Recently in the news for his ending association with Nike, Uncle Drew caused a storm with a cryptic message penned on his sneakers which read “I am Free” and “Logo Here.” The Nets guard was wearing The Kyrie 3 Raygun with a piece of tape covering the swoosh logo.
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Kyrie Irving covered up the Swoosh on his Nike Kyrie 3 with some messages following his official split with the company.
Irving is a sneaker free agent pic.twitter.com/xyKS4qN1qd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 8, 2022
Irving made a handsome $11 million per annum from his association with Nike during their 8-years together. However, the former champion’s recent antisemitic controversy had him at the receiving end of an avalanche of criticism, making him the latest joinee of the cancel culture.
Recently, Nike co-founder Phil Knight confirmed that the suspension of relations with Irving had no coming back.
Phil Knight quite literally told @CNBC it was done in November:
“Kyrie stepped over the line. It’s kind of that simple. He made some statements that we just can’t abide by, and that’s why we ended the relationship. I was fine with that.”
— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) December 5, 2022
According to reports, Nike has already moved passed Irving, looking to bring a budding superstar in Ja Morant on board.
Ja Morant is replacing Kyrie Irving as one of the faces of Nike.
Morant is next in line to get his own shoe, per @ShamsCharania. pic.twitter.com/lzs8dS4nGH
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) December 5, 2022
Currently a sneaker-free agent, Irving has this Boston-based sports footwear and apparel quite interested in him.
New Balance expresses interest in Kyrie Irving.
Ever since he arrived in Brooklyn, Irving made more headlines for his off-court controversies over his on-court performances. Signing with the Nets during the summer of the 2019-20 season, the seven-time All-Star has played 121 out of the 252 games conducted so far, courtesy of injuries and controversies.
The latest being his association with Nike coming to an end. Nevertheless, it seems the 30-year-old already has another party worth $3.3 billion interested in him. According to NBA Insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, New Balance has expressed interest in the Nets guard.
New Balance could be a player in the Kyrie Irving sneaker free agency campaign, I’m hearing ➡️ https://t.co/Uu0onKLwua https://t.co/QeWlXB3dHU pic.twitter.com/kX2Nw7VkDk
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) December 8, 2022
Founded in 1906, NB has primarily focused on footwear. According to a report by All Top Everything, the Boston native brand ranks among the top 5 biggest sports brands in the world.
NBA players associated with New Balance.
While they had a lowkey presence in the NBA market, New Balance hit the jackpot in 2018 by signing two-time champion and Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.
Some of the other NBA players associated with the brand include Dejounte Murray, Jamal Murray, and Zach LaVine. In the past, the NB also had ties with former players Matt Bonner and James Worthy.
