Listing Kevin Durant's top 5 endorsement deals

Kevin Durant, from the moment he entered the league in 2007 has garnered interest from fans and the media alike. His record-breaking performances on court have translated to building his brand off-court.

33-year-old Kevin Durant, is a well-known global icon, representing the national team 11 times. In his national career, he has won three gold medals, the most recent one at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Based on the Forbes’ list of highest earning NBA players, Kevin Durant’s estimated total earnings of $87.9 million, puts him third behind LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Durant even made an appearance on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team, announced earlier this season.

Apart from receiving approximately $42 million in salaries per year, Kevin Durant earns almost $40 million from endorsements. Durant co-founded Thirty Five Ventures with his manager Rich Kleiman in 2016 and has made investments in more than 80 companies. Here is a list of Kevin Durant’s top five endorsement deals.

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#5 BBVA

Back in 2013 BBVA, a multinational Spanish banking group, signed a personal endorsement deal with Kevin Durant. He became a brand ambassador, launching the banks’s NBA Banking proposition. BBVA already had an agreement with the league and Durant, along with James Harden, were chosen to represent it.

As a fan, you could get yourself a bank account with BBVA and receive an American Express card with the logo of your favorite team.

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#4 American Family Insurance

Kevin Durant became the first NBA player to sign an endorsement deal with American Family Insurance. In 2015, the two-time NBA champion opened up saying:

“It’s important to me to inspire others to pursue and achieve their dreams, and I’m honored to work with American Family in its efforts to do the same.”

Fast-forward a few years to 2018, Kevin Durant’s investment firm took the partnership further. Thirty Five Media, with American Family Insurance, launched an online series called “Dream to Achieve”. They invite guests who share their journey in achieving success.

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#3 Alaska Airlines

In 2017, Kevin Durant shook the internet with an image of him on the side of a plane. Yes, you read that right. His partnership with Air Alaska was inked in September of that year. Brad Tilden, the company's CEO, was inspired by Kevin Durant’s exceptional talent and work ethic and additionally gave him the title of “Adviser to the CEO.”

With Alaska Airlines, Kevin Durant also works to support youth and education programs. His exclusive partnership also meant representing the company in select marketing events.

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#2 2K Sports

Kevin Durant enjoys competing even off the court. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2K sports came up with an online 2K tournament for NBA players. Kevin Durant participated and was a top-seed player. Derrick Jones Jr. was the one to knock Durant out in the first round of the players-only tournament.

Kevin Durant has signed a life-time partnership deal with the premier basketball video game franchise. It was announced that he will be on the cover of the NBA 2K Mobile app and additionally will share his input towards game development. “The partnership is about capturing myself and my brand through a game that I’ve been loving since I was a kid”, said Kevin Durant in an interview.

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#1 Nike

In 2014, Under Armour approached Kevin Durant with a massive deal of around $265-285 million. He went back to Nike with that offer and his existing shoe deal was extended through 2024, matching their competitor’s offer.

Kevin Durant believed that Nikes were more famous among the masses and chose to stay with the best. Nike were more than happy to retain him and boast about being the preferred brand. The deal is believed to have taken care of Kevin Durant for the rest of his life, even if he were to not step on an NBA court again.

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