Chapter 77

(This book's protagonist will not represent the Chinese team in the World Championships or the Olympics, yeah, that's how it is.)

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly held the secret letter given to him by his mother.

Regarding the Jazz management's assistance in handling Lin Han's commercial contracts, the entire management team was truly very dedicated. This was not only because Lin Han was currently the star of the Jazz, but also because to win Lin Han's favor, even the team's two top players, Stockton and Malone, were accommodating him, much like how Jordan had continuously accommodated Pippen to win his favor.

In this situation, the Jazz owner, Miller, ordered that Lin Han be the team's primary focus for the near future. After the team returned to Utah, the owner frequently visited the team's training facility. More importantly, Lin Han was not a rookie who didn't know how to handle himself. He promised that for every commercial contract successfully negotiated by the Jazz management, he would give 10% as a contract bonus. Given Lin Han's current value, any commercial contract would start at the million-dollar mark, making this 10% a significant amount.

Indeed, there were some contracts close to being finalized recently, such as Lin Han's endorsement deal with McDonald's. Due to his background as a McDonald's employee, after Lin Han's miraculous performance with the Knicks made him a national sensation, his past was once again brought to light. After the draft, many media outlets reported that Lin Han did not attend college after high school but instead worked at McDonald's. The so-called Utah Valley Community College basketball team, a dubious technical school, was completely negligible. At that time, the media's portrayal of Lin Han's experience at McDonald's was filled with sarcasm, even questioning whether the Jazz's selection of Lin Han was a favor, such as the team's general manager, Rayden, receiving money.

Now, however, these American media outlets were almost portraying Lin Han as a symbol of the American Dream or an inspirational story. Lin Han's journey was no less inspiring than those in Hollywood films. In this context, it would be foolish for McDonald's not to capitalize on this. The company was not bad to Lin Han, offering a three-year, $3 million endorsement deal, which was quite generous. After all, Nike's contract with Lin Han was only $250,000 per year for five years. While Lin Han was somewhat satisfied with the McDonald's deal, he was not entirely convinced, as he wanted the $3 million to be after tax, not before.

As for Nike now approaching Lin Han for a contract, he chose to ignore it. Was $250,000 over five years a lot? Of course, it was. Jordan's contract with Nike in 1984 was also $250,000 over five years. At that time, Nike was on the brink of collapse, and this contract with Jordan saved the company, turning it into the leading sports brand in just six years. This year, Nike even claimed that its sales would reach $4 billion, a significant amount in 1993. The entire nation and the world were watching to see if Nike would achieve its claimed $4 billion in sales, as reaching this milestone would make Nike a legend. After all, in 1990, Nike's sales had only just surpassed $1 billion. If it reached $4 billion this year, the growth rate would be terrifying.

It was precisely this expansion of Nike that had devastated Adidas in the U.S., leading to their arrogance and overconfidence. The company felt confident that Lin Han would sign the so-called Jordan-like contract. But who was Lin Han? While his idol was Jordan, would he sign a contract from a decade ago just because of Jordan and Nike's brand?

It's worth noting that when Penny Hardaway entered the NBA, Nike signed him to a lifetime contract with an annual salary of nearly $4 million. Lin Han didn't know the specifics of Hardaway's contract with Nike, as it was a trade secret. Adidas had revealed this information to Lin Han, though it might have been exaggerated. Lin Han didn't care; why should Hardaway earn $4 million a year while he only got $500,000? Even though Nike was grooming Hardaway as the next Jordan, the disparity was still too great.

Therefore, while Nike and Lin Han were negotiating, Lin Han had already mentally placed Nike in the cold storage. In terms of money, Lin Han was always greedy. The only people who could make him bleed were his family or those who could create greater value for him, like the Jazz management.

Thus, after returning to Utah, Lin Han had been in talks with a group, which was none other than Adidas, the company that had leaked key information about Nike. Since missing out on Jordan in 1984, the company had suffered for over a decade, watching Nike, once a small fish, transform into a terrifying shark. This was unbearable for anyone.

Of course, even though Adidas had the opportunity to negotiate directly with Lin Han, the company's executives were still very frustrated. Lin Han was incredibly greedy, demanding far too much. Adidas genuinely wanted to groom Lin Han as the future face of the brand and offered him a super contract of $18 million over six years, the second-largest contract in the NBA after Jordan's. As for Hardaway's contract, Adidas didn't know the specifics, but it was rumored to be over $3 million annually and possibly included a lifetime clause.

However, even with this, Lin Han was still unsatisfied. The rookie naively demanded that Adidas create a separate sports brand for him, and he wanted to own shares and receive a percentage of the sales. Creating a sports brand for Lin Han wasn't an unreasonable request. For Adidas, creating a sub-brand was relatively simple, requiring only some management costs. They had the technology and manufacturing capabilities, and they were willing to give Lin Han a high percentage of shares, even up to 49%. Even if Lin Han owned 49% of the sub-brand, Adidas could ensure he earned nothing, as cooking the books was common in the U.S. For example, the blockbuster "Jurassic Park," which had a production cost of around $50 million and a marketing budget of less than $100 million, was reported to be a loss despite grossing over $1 billion worldwide. No one with common sense would believe this. Capitalists would do anything to avoid paying actors or writers, and Adidas could do the same. After all, the factories, technology, and raw material prices were all under their control, making it easy to transfer money from one hand to the other.

However, Lin Han's other demand, a percentage of sales, was something Adidas couldn't agree to. This would mean giving Lin Han real money. For a sports brand, the cost of a basketball shoe is very low. A pair of Jordan X shoes, priced at over $100 to $200, costs no more than $25 to produce, mostly under $20. Even with shipping, distribution, and management costs, the cost of a shoe would not exceed 40% of its price. In this case, the profit margin on a shoe could be as high as 60% of its sales price, an absolute windfall. Lin Han demanded a 30% share of sales, meaning if his shoes generated $10 million in sales, he would take $3 million, effectively splitting the profit with Adidas. Sales figures couldn't be faked, and Adidas wouldn't willingly give up so much profit, even Jordan wasn't that greedy.

Initially, Adidas thought Lin Han was just trying to drive up the price, and they could counter with a lower offer. However, the greedy rookie didn't budge, demanding a minimum of 40% ownership in the new brand and a 30% share of sales. It was either sign or leave.

For Lin Han, why should he let Adidas take the lion's share? He knew his commercial value, especially after his trip to New York, where he realized he had a large number of Chinese fans. Clearly, this was his capital. He was the only Chinese player in the NBA, the only one with yellow skin, and this was his value. Knowing his worth, he saw no reason to give up any of it. Lin Han understood early on that without value, no matter how generous he was, no one would care. When his parents passed away and his family faced a crisis, who would give him money because of his good character and generosity? Which family or company would support him out of pity?

Of course, Lin Han had set his bottom line. Adidas had to decide whether to make money with him or, like they did with Jordan, let him go. This decision depended on Adidas's level of greed. If they wanted to keep everything for themselves, they might end up with nothing. This time, they were dealing with someone as greedy as they were.

After returning to the Jazz, Lin Han now had to handle many commercial matters. Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz, after defeating the Mavericks and securing a nine-game winning streak, were about to face a formidable and terrifying opponent, the Suns led by Charles Barkley.

On November 25th, Barkley's Suns would arrive in Utah.

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