According to a report from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, an unnamed Los Angeles Lakers player lost a $1 million endorsement deal with a Chinese company as a result of the firestorm that erupted in China in response to the tweet from Daryl Morey in support of the Hong Kong protestors. The deal was reportedly agreed upon between the player and the company prior to the team’s preseason trip last week, only to be pulled off the table as tensions between the country and NBA reached an all-time high.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma and Rajon Rondo were among the players who had individual appearances canceled as well, in addition to the NBA-related events and media availabilities that were canceled throughout the trip. But one Laker, in particular, was directly impacted financially by the fall-out when a seven-figure payday vanished just as soon as he touched down in China.
“While the games were losing corporate money, the players were feeling it in their wallets as well,” McMenamin wrote.
“LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma and Rajon Rondo — to name a few — had appearances canceled. One Lakers player, sources told ESPN, had agreed to a $1 million endorsement deal with a Chinese company prior to the trip. When he arrived — poof — it was gone. A seven-figure payday went out the window.”
After first suggesting that Morey “wasn’t informed” on the “ramifications” of his China tweet, LeBron has since indicated that he will no longer discuss the NBA-China situation anymore after attempting to clarify his initial comments on Twitter. He and his teammates are scheduled to meet the Golden State Warriors both tonight and Friday before tipping off the regular season against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
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