With the support of his oldest brother, Lonzo Ball, LaMelo Ball and his camp are in the process of negotiating an endorsement deal with shoe brands, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
While no brand has made Ball an official offer, Nike has shown serious interest in signing the 18-year-old Illawarra Hawks guard over the last few days, according to a report by TMZ Sports:
Our Nike sources tell us … the company is actively scouting the youngest Ball brother and even has a scout in Australia monitoring him as plays pro ball overseas.
We’re told Nike has not made a formal offer at this point, but the interest is real — and we’re guessing the fact Melo has been rocking Nike shoes lately is a good sign for the Swoosh.
A player signing a shoe deal before getting drafted to the NBA is unusual, but it’s not as uncommon as it used to be. For example, in July, Ball’s NBL colleague and fellow 2020 NBA Draft hopeful RJ Hampton inked a five-year shoe deal with Chinese company Li-Ning.
With a global brand, nearly five million followers on Instagram and a rapidly rising draft stock, it’s no surprise that Ball is getting interest from Nike, and it’s unlikely Nike is the only one of the big three shoe brands preparing to make him an offer. However, there’s still some uncertainty about whether or not Ball or his brothers are ready to leave their family brand, the Big Baller Brand, just yet.
Ball hasn’t worn Big Baller Brand since arriving to Australia, but that could be because of the brand’s rumored relaunch coming this fall. Whatever the case may be, we should be finding out which company wins the bidding war for Ball sooner rather than later.
.jpg?w=600)
