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After his contract with the Jordan Brand came to an end, Kawhi Leonard has agreed to a multi-year sponsorship deal with New Balance. The Toronto Raptors star will now become the first notable NBA player sponsored by the company since James Worthy in the 1980s.
The 27-year-old will reportedly earn $5 million a year from his new deal, although it looks as though New Balance approached a number of other players before eventually agreeing on a deal with Leonard. So here are three of the most notable names that have turned down a deal with New Balance over the last few months.
#3 Kelly Oubre Jr.
New Balance aggressively pursued a deal to sign emerging talent Kelly Oubre Jr, however, the company eventually lost out to the Converse brand. Converse, which is owned by Nike, reportedly wants to start influencing basketball culture off the court with casual wear and Oubre Jr. will reportedly wear Converse branded clothing during the warmup, before switching to Nike sneakers.
The 22-year-old would have been a good pick up for New Balance, as the youngster has already amassed a big social media following, and he may eventually develop into an All-Star player. New Balance's loss is Converse's gain on this occasion.
#2 Gordon Hayward
Gordon Hayward's longtime deal with Nike expired over the summer, and the 28-year-old subsequently entered into negotiations with a number of different shoe suppliers, including New Balance. The company wanted to make Hayward the face of its re-emergence in the basketball market, although Hayward ultimately signed a deal with another emerging company.
The Boston Celtics man agreed on a four-year shoe deal with Chinese sportswear brand, Anta. This was a blow to New Balance, as the company had recently agreed on a deal to sponsor the Celtics' brand new training facility. Hayward will instead join Klay Thompson as one of the faces of the emerging Chinese sports brand.
#1 Joel Embiid
There is a notion that big men in the NBA don't sell shoes, although Embiid has the potential to change this belief. The 76ers center is young, charismatic and likely to soon become one of the best five players in the entire league. Due to this, Embiid attracted serious interest from New Balance before he recently signed a huge sponsorship deal with Under Armour.
Joel Embiid and Under Armour last week announced a five-year deal, which will make the 24-year-old the highest paid center in the NBA. The exact amount that Embiid will receive has not been revealed, although it is likely to be substantially higher than the $5 million a year that New Balance is now giving to Kawhi Leonard.
It feels as though New Balance will regret missing out on a player who despite his size, was recently named among SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable athletes.
