"Uh, sir, are you sure we're measuring for football cleats? Not ballet slippers or high heels or something?" Lu Ke was full of questions as he watched the staff member measuring his feet. He couldn't understand and joked about it.
In the hotel room today, besides Lu Ke and Leigh, Under Armour had sent a total of three representatives. One was Sean, the general manager of the West Coast market, and the other two were his assistants.
The curvy woman was Sean's personal secretary, responsible for recording meeting details and contract clauses. The other person, dressed in business casual attire, was a staff member from the design department who was there to measure Lu Ke's body in detail.
The so-called detailed measurements opened up a whole new world, just like getting a custom-made suit. For the arm alone, they measured four different parts. There were also detailed measurements of his hands, shoulders, thighs, and other parts.
The most interesting part was the foot measurement. They not only measured the sole, instep, and arch of his foot but also his ankle and calf. The assistant also asked Lu Ke to walk on a testing device to measure his walking and running habits and see which parts of his feet were under stress.
Although Lu Ke didn't understand how these details would be applied to the equipment, he truly felt the specialness of "custom-made."
The discussion part of the meeting lasted for about thirty-five minutes. Lu Ke and Sean talked about all aspects of the past three weeks' games. Sean also carefully asked about Lu Ke's life before immigrating, such as his hometown, his memories of China, his Chinese proficiency, and his current connection with his hometown. And so on.
Leigh listened attentively the whole time, occasionally joining in the conversation, but mostly acting as a dedicated listener.
As an agent, his knowledge of Lu Ke was very limited, but Leigh was a very special person. It was likely that Lu Ke and Ben Roethlisberger would be his only two clients for the next five to ten years, so he could take his time to learn about Lu Ke in a focused and in-depth way, which was important for his work.
After the conversation, Lu Ke went into the next room and started the measurements. The entire measurement process took about forty-five minutes, but it still wasn't over. They were now back in the living room to finish measuring his feet.
The reason Lu Ke joked was because the person was measuring his ankle. Football cleats were position-specific. Linemen who needed to be strong and confrontational wore high-top cleats, while quarterbacks and receivers who needed to be agile wore mid-top and low-top cleats.
"If you want high heels, I have some personal connections with top designers and I can help you get in touch with them," Sean joked along.
Lu Ke said seriously, "I don't think I'll have an occasion to wear them, so I'll pass." The answer, combined with his serious and deadpan expression, was even funnier. "Are you going to design a pair of shoes just for me? The measurements are so detailed that I'm starting to feel a little uneasy."
"Design? No, no, it's just custom-made," Sean said with a light smile. "Maybe one day in the future, we'll design a series called 'Bambi,' but not now."
Lu Ke laughed along. "It seems I have to work harder."
After all the data had been measured, the staff member nodded to Sean to confirm. Sean then stood up. "Perfect! Today's tasks are all completed, so let's call it a day. Next, we'll arrange the follow-up matters as soon as possible. Once the contract is signed, your equipment will be delivered to your door."
"It's a pleasure working with you!" Sean politely shook Lu Ke's right hand again. "Oh, and if you sign the contract before Friday, I hope you can wear Under Armour equipment in this weekend's game. I look forward to you getting a win." Then, Sean shook Leigh's right hand and led his two assistants away.
Leigh escorted Sean out of the hotel room, while Lu Ke sat on the sofa, slowly recovering.
When Leigh returned to the hotel room's living room, he saw Lu Ke looking up, his face full of a brilliant smile. His eyes were wide as he said excitedly, "Really? Is all of this real? Under Armour is really sponsoring me? I'm a player with a sponsor now?"
For professional players, there were countless sponsors, but among them, cars, sportswear, clothing, and beverages were known as the "four kings." They had the highest endorsement profits, the widest audience, and the most suitable image. They were undoubtedly the dream endorsements and sponsorships of every player.
Now, Lu Ke's first endorsement of his career was for sportswear. The first step was incredibly solid and powerful.
This Lu Ke showed the youthful vigor of a twenty-two-year-old and the excitement of a rookie. Leigh gave a bright smile and nodded to confirm. "Have you read the numbers on the contract?"
"Oh, I forgot about that," Lu Ke came back to his senses and opened the contract on the table. But the sample was too thick, with countless clauses written on it. It looked like there were at least a hundred pages. For a moment, Lu Ke couldn't find the numbers, so he chose the most convenient way. "Remind me, what are the specific numbers?"
"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year for two years," Leigh answered directly without being mysterious.
Lu Ke let out a long sigh, letting his pounding heart calm down little by little. "You mean, Under Armour will now sponsor all my training equipment, and they'll also pay me two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year, which is more than half of my team salary?"
Lu Ke's undrafted rookie contract was four hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars per year. The Under Armour sponsorship contract was two hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year, which required Lu Ke's training equipment to all be from Under Armour.
The NFL's official sponsor was Nike. The jerseys and equipment of all the teams were from Nike, but Nike didn't have a complete buyout. Players' gloves, cleats, and quick-dry shirts under their jerseys, as well as their personal training clothes outside of games, were all things they could freely choose sponsors for.
As another official sponsor of the league, Under Armour had almost monopolized the personal training clothes, including quick-dry shirts. Players who didn't have a sponsor almost all chose Under Armour for a simple reason: it was professional and high-quality enough.
Now, Under Armour had bought out the sponsorship of Lu Ke's other equipment besides his jersey and game equipment. From a regular person's perspective, this meant he wouldn't be lacking in sportswear for the next two years.
Compared to Lu Ke's satisfaction, Leigh seemed very calm. "Two hundred and fifty thousand a year is not a big contract. If you compare it to the NBA, it's almost nothing. Don't you feel a little disappointed?"
"Haha, a person shouldn't be too greedy," Lu Ke said, waving his hand nonchalantly. "I'm an undrafted rookie who's only played three games. Getting a sponsor is already a huge step forward. For me, the most important thing now is to keep my feet on the ground and focus on the next game, to move forward one game at a time. When the wins pile up, a big contract will naturally follow."
Lu Ke was full of a strong desire to win and would never give up easily, but for things he gained outside of the field, he remained humble, content, and knew his limits. He believed that today's contract was not the end, but the beginning. Confidence did not equal arrogance.
The sponsorship from Under Armour was the first pot of gold in his career. Unlike the undrafted rookie contract he signed before, which was a salary and would only be paid after the season was over, this was an off-field reward, like a bonus, that truly opened up the wide world of professional players.
Deep down, Lu Ke was joyful, surprised, excited, and happy. It was as if he was standing under a spotlight, basking in a warm glow. The small changes in the community over the past two days, including today, had all made Lu Ke feel like he was in a beautiful picture.
The only thing he didn't feel was dissatisfaction.
"As for the NBA..." Lu Ke shrugged. "I think I chose the wrong sport from the beginning."
This joke successfully made Leigh chuckle. He nodded. "It's great that you can maintain this attitude." The more time they spent together, the more satisfied Leigh was. Lu Ke was indeed a rare quarterback. He hadn't misjudged him.
After entering the professional league, everything began to accelerate and be magnified under the spotlight and the microscope.
A win could bring countless praise and glory, but a loss could also lead to a complete downfall. The pressure from fans and the media magnified and accelerated everything several times over. The rollercoaster development curve was undoubtedly a severe test for rookie players, and the attention and focus outside of the field could easily cause them to lose their way.
Fortunately, Lu Ke didn't.
The euphoria of the three-game winning streak didn't cloud his judgment, and the huge amount of attention he was getting as a Chinese-American player hadn't affected his judgment and focus yet. This was very important.
Frankly, a two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar-a-year contract was truly insignificant and had very few highlights.
In the NBA, LeBron James's lifetime contract with Nike was as high as a billion dollars, and there were many players with nine-figure shoe endorsement contracts. Even a rookie player's endorsement contract was worth far more than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
In fact, the NFL was the number one sport in North America. Its audience size, market value, and level of attention were far ahead. According to incomplete statistics, the NFL's audience was more than three times that of the NBA. But the endorsement contracts of top NFL players were only equivalent to those of average NBA players.
Why was there such an abnormal phenomenon?
NOTE:
New chapters drop Three times a day, every Monday through Sunday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release Three bonus chapters for every 300 votes! Let's get this story moving together.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 20 chapters in advance!