Ray Allen turned down a lucrative offer as a rookie to sign with Nike.
The California-born athlete was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1996 during the first round as the fifth pick, according to ESPN. He was traded that same day to the Milwaukee Bucks with a three-year rookie contract valued at $6.2 million, per Spotrac.
Allen’s earnings helped him remain level-headed when he was receiving offers from FILA and Nike. He already had his mind set on Nike and was not even swayed by a six-figure offer from FILA, despite having a prior sponsorship deal with the company.
“I almost ended up wearing FILA. My agent at the time tried to make me accept a check for a $100,000 but they were telling me they were going to give me a signature shoe,” he told Sports Illustrated in a 2017 interview. “It was either FILA or Nike at the time, and (FILA) told me (I’d get) the signature shoe for five years years but the first two I had to lead the team in scoring, rebounding, steals or assists. And I’m going to Milwaukee with Glenn Robinson and Vin Baker, and I was like this is basically a two-year deal, they were just trying to put the wool over my eyes and I was smart. I didn’t need the $100,000.”
While Nike did not promise him a signature shoe, he said the company told him he would be one of the first athletes under the Jordan Brand, a partnership between the footwear giant and Michael Jordan, which officially launched in 1997.
“Then Nike came back and said well listen, if you come with us we can’t guarantee you a shoe but we are starting this new company, it is going to be called Brand Jordan and you will be one of the first athletes,” Allen said, according to Sports Illustrated. “And you know there were no guarantees made. I didn’t take that check, and I was going where my heart is. One gentleman told me ‘If you are a great NBA player, what would you rather have on your foot? Where do you think you will blow up more, with FILA or with Nike?’ And I told him Nike hands down.”
Per Basketball Network, Allen would go on to become Michael Jordan’s top choice to endorse the Jordan Brand. He was joined by four other NBA star players to make up the brand’s “Starting Five” — Derek Anderson, Michael Finley, Eddie Jones, and Vin Baker.
“The goal was to hopefully find athletes that had a little bit of Michael in them. In our mind, Michael…did so many things really well. And while you may never find that one guy that has the complete package, you can find a little bit of some of those things in several athletes,”a former Jordan Brand product director said, according to the outlet.
