I was waiting for this conversation to take place.
Darren Rovell of ESPN.com is reporting that Derrick Rose’s second knee injury in three years could ramifications far beyond the Bulls.
According to Rovell, Adidas can’t get out of the 10 year $200 million deal they signed with Rose, but there is language in the deal that would allow the shoe company to recoup money owed to Rose if his injuries begin to hurt shoe sales.
Sales of the D Rose 4 aren’t expected to fall completely flat. The shoes are priced at $140, $20 below last year’s retail price. Believe it or not, that price comes off as affordable when you compare it to the $200 LeBrons. And they’re in colors — black, gray and red — that have stayed hot in the post-Jordan era.
That being said, sales won’t exactly be off the charts with Rose sitting on the sideline in dress shoes.
Sources say the adidas deal with Rose can’t be undone, but the company can start to recover money once Rose misses two-thirds of any given season. If the company can prove that shoe sales gave been hurt, it can deduct some of the money owed to Rose. It’s uncertain what happened last year when Rose missed the season following ACL surgery.
Adidas might need some of that extra cash because it can’t possibly leave the game. Sure, soccer is more important to its overall portfolio, but as the official apparel licensee of the NBA, adidas has to have a presence in the signature shoe game.
Combine all this with the fact that the basketball shoe market is soaring and there’s finally a group of fresh pitchmen (Wiggins and Parker) in the marketplace, and it’s easy to see why adidas might have to bet bigger than ever before on talent this summer.
Not only will adidas have to come with a bag of money, but Rose’s injury might suggest a greater diversification. Perhaps that means adidas executives have to strategize how to land both Wiggins and Parker.
The companies official Twitter feed sent out this tweet in support of Rose moments after his knee surgery.
all in for @drose. #teamadidas stands behind you.
— adidas Basketball (@adidasHoops) November 26, 2013
At this point, I don’t think Adidas has any choice but to be all in for Rose.