Tennis: He's so obedient!

Chapter 65 Nike, Sponsorship Contract! (Please continue reading!)

The next day, Jiang Hong got up early as usual. However, in this small county town in 07, there were naturally no gyms or similar facilities. Even if a boss opened one, it would go bankrupt!

After leaving the house, Jiang Hong first ran a lap around the county town to exercise!
The county town is not very large; it only took Jiang Hong a little over half an hour to run around it.

After finishing my run, I returned home.

"Xiao Hong, come here, someone's looking for you!"

As soon as Jiang Hong entered the supermarket, he heard his mother's voice.

He was a little confused; who would be looking for him?

None of my good friends from high school have come back.

Jiang Hong walked over and saw two people sitting on the sofa next to him.

One of them was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, wearing a white shirt and a belt that was almost tied up to his stomach.

Standing next to her was a woman in her twenties, dressed in a business suit, who seemed out of place in the atmosphere of the small county town.

The two men stood up after seeing Jiang Hong.

The middle-aged man walked up to Jiang Hong with a fake smile on his face.

"I just found out myself. It's such a shame that our county has produced such a talented athlete like you! It's truly my fault!"

As he spoke, he extended his hands and shook hands with Jiang Hong.

Jiang Hong glanced at his mother. He didn't recognize the person who had come. The county town wasn't big; his mother should know who it was.

"This is Director Lei from our Sports Bureau!" No one knows a son better than his mother, and the mother immediately understood Jiang Hong's meaning and introduced him.

"Director Lei, hello!"

Jiang Hong greeted him with a smile, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, he asked about the purpose of his visit.

Director Lei slapped his forehead and said with a smile, "It's like this, this is Ms. Wang Lan, the head of Nike's Northwest region, who wants to talk to you about sponsorship!"

"Hello, Mr. Jiang Hong. You don't need to call me President Wang, just call me Ivy!" The woman, who had been silent all along, finally spoke slowly.

Nike is one of the world's leading sports brand giants, with businesses spanning various sports.

In many cases, it can even affect the sporting event itself.

As for China, a market with enormous potential, Nike is naturally no exception.

Back in 1999, Nike had already signed a four-year, $200,000 sponsorship deal with Yao Ming.

At the time, this was considered an astronomical contract in the CBA.

Yao Ming entered the NBA as the number one draft pick in 2002. After his contract expired in 2003, Nike offered him a four-year, $1.6 million extension.

At the time, Nike offered LeBron James, who had just entered the NBA, a seven-year, $90 million contract.

So it was clear that Yao Ming's contract was humiliating. He then turned around and signed a 7-year, $5000 million contract with Reebok, which was rejected even when Nike later offered him $1.2 million for 7 years.

Besides basketball, Nike has also signed many players in other sports.

In 2002, he signed a contract with Liu Xiang, who was not yet famous, for 30 yuan per year.

After winning the gold medal at the Athens Olympics, Nike's commercial value skyrocketed, and they successfully capitalized on the opportunity. This time, they learned their lesson and immediately revised the contract, raising the value to tens of millions.

That's why Nike and Adidas love to sell lottery tickets to players before they become famous!

Cast a wide net; whether you catch any fish or not is not important, as long as you don't leave any for your opponents.

The same applies to tennis!

Li Na, in particular, received sponsorship as early as 1997 and was even sent to a tennis academy.

Although Jiang Hong's two ITF Hope Tour titles mean nothing in the tennis world, he still has others to highlight him!
Jiang Hong's ATP ranking is almost at number one in tennis, and he's also a free agent, which is more in their best interest.

After all, players within the system often face constraints from sponsors' demands.

To be honest, Jiang Hong didn't expect to get a sponsorship contract so quickly.

I originally thought I would at least have to break into the ATP top 300, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly!

For tennis players, commercial sponsorships account for a higher percentage of their income compared to football and basketball players.

Although it offers more freedom, there's no one to bail you out.

Before Wang Lan came this time, she had already found out about Jiang Hong's situation.

Such players without professional training are very appealing. They can realize their sponsorship dreams and tell the story of rural tennis prodigies going global!

Before coming, I also contacted local sports officials to increase credibility.

Besides, Jiang Hong is only 18 years old, so we can approach the issue from the perspective of Jiang Hong's parents.

"Hello, Miss Wang Lan!" Jiang Hong nodded, indicating that he understood the other party's purpose.

“Just call me Ivy!” Wang Lan emphasized again, then said to Jiang Hong, “Mr. Jiang Hong… um, do you have an English name or a foreign language name?”

"No!" Jiang Hong shook his head.

"As a tennis player, you'll need to compete all over the world in the future, so you'll need a foreign language name for easier communication!" Wang Lan kindly reminded her, with a hint of arrogance in her voice.
Jiang Hong frowned slightly and said calmly, "I think my name is fine. Miss Wang, let's talk about the sponsorship!"

He wasn't very optimistic about this sponsorship deal.

He keeps emphasizing his foreign name, which seems to be a bit like a fanatical convert!
In this situation, even if the company grants him authority to earn 50, he will keep it to 10 to demonstrate his abilities, and he is genuinely concerned for the company's interests.

Although Nike might not care about this amount of money at all.

“We at Nike have signed many athletes in the sports world, such as the now-famous Liu Xiang, and Li Na from your tennis world. In addition to funding, we can provide even more assistance!” Wang Lan demonstrated her strength, putting herself in a superior negotiating position.

"I'm sure Director Lei is aware of this too!" Wang Lan turned her head and glanced at Lei Fuheng!

Lei Fuheng forced an awkward smile, nodded, and echoed, "Yes, yes, yes!"

In reality, he knows nothing!

In this small county, the number of professional athletes who have gone abroad is very small.

Not to mention endorsements and the like.

“We can offer you a four-year sponsorship contract worth 100 million yuan. In addition, if you can participate in the Olympics next year, we will add a bonus of 50 yuan. This is our sincerity!” Wang Lan said with a confident smile.

Since the last Athens Olympics, Nike has been aware of the influence of the Olympics in China, especially since next year's Olympics will be held in Beijing.

Although I don't have high expectations for Jiang Hong's performance.

But as long as they can participate, it's not a loss for them.

Upon hearing about the 100 million contract, Lei Fuheng's breathing became heavy.

After all, his annual benefits and miscellaneous allowances only add up to about 10 yuan.

As a result, Jiang Hong was able to get 100 million in one go.

Sponsorship fees for tennis players are normally calculated in US dollars, but Wang Lan specifically changed it to Chinese yuan and mentioned that the total amount over four years seemed to be much larger.

Jiang Hong is a young man; he definitely wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of 100 million.

……

　Xiaoming updated three chapters today. For the sake of an extra chapter, please shower me with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets! I won't mind too many. Please continue reading, please give monthly tickets, please give recommendation tickets, I'll do anything!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)