Sonny Vaccaro made a name for himself in the sneaker industry after signing Michael Jordan to a first-of-its-kind deal with Nike. However, Jordan wasn’t the only NBA superstar that Sonny landed in his kitty. Working for Adidas, Vaccaro convinced the company to spend $75,000 to move him closer to Kobe Bryant‘s high school. According to the book ‘Three Ring Circus by Jeff Pearlman’, Sonny wanted Bryant to be the next face of Adidas.
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If moving closer to Kobe Bryant wasn’t enough, Sonny Vaccaro never attended the games so that the competition wouldn’t get a whiff of his plans. With brand ambassadors playing a major role in dictating the sales of the sneakers, all the big companies were always on the lookout to get the next big superstar under their brand umbrella.
Sonny Vaccaro wanted Kobe Bryant to be a part of Adidas
Adidas was searching for a superstar to be the face of their brand, and Sonny Vaccaro had just the right player in mind. After getting fired from Nike in 1991, he joined Adidas and convinced them to sign Kobe Bryant in 1996.
He was confident in Bryant’s abilities, having watched him closely during his camp. Adidas reportedly spent $75,000 to relocate Vaccaro so that he could scout the player. Here is an excerpt from the book ‘Three Ring Circus’ by Jeff Pearlman describing the incident,
“Vaccaro was now more determined than ever to make Bryant the face of Adidas. Midway through the high school season, he convinced the company to spend $75,000 to move him from Southern California to New York City in order to be closer to the high school supernova. He never attended Lower Merion games, for fear that Nike or another rival apparel company would learn of his plans, but had Charles show up as his go-between.”
As mentioned in the book, Sonny took extreme measures to ensure the competition did not get a hint of his plans.
He did not attend the games and had someone represent him to get a report of Bryant’s performance. The move worked brilliantly for the Adidas executive as Kobe ended up becoming the face of the brand.
Kobe’s fallout with Adidas
The association with Kobe worked wonders for Adidas, and they earned a lot of success through the partnership. However, the relationship went sour in 2002. There was a major fallout between the two parties, and Bryant paid 8 million dollars to cut ties with the brand.
The Laker’s superstar was unhappy with the design of the Kobe 2s and the feedback it received from the fans. In fact, he was so miffed that he wanted nothing to do with the brand. After leaving Adidas, he joined Nike and refused to sign his signature Adidas shoes for his teammate. He even asked a journalist to throw his Adidas sweatsuit in the trash before giving an interview.
