Jimmy Butler is one of the most talked about superstars when it comes Playoff time. This is the 4th season in a row, tracking back to the 2020 Bubble Playoffs that Butler has turned it up in the postseason and looked nothing like the version of himself that coasts during the regular season. With superstardom, comes NIL deals. No deal is more prestigious than getting signed to a premier shoe deal. Butler has done this thrice.
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As a rookie, the Marquette graduate wasn’t all too sought after as a commodity. He eventually had a deal with Adidas that he would honor for 3 years. during the 2014-15 season however, he would ditch Adidas for Jordan Brand, leading to a 75% pay cut in the process.
Butler clearly wanted to be with Jordan Brand over another other company, given how much money he left on the table. His signing with Jordan Brand coincided with his ascent into stardom as he won ‘Most Improved Player’ honors that same 2014-15 season.
Jimmy Butler leaves Jordan Brand for Li-Ning
Jimmy Butler was known to wear shoes like the Jordan 32 Low PE, the Superflys, or the Supreme Elevations for the most part while with Jordan Brand. He never got his own signature shoe and perhaps this is why he decided to leave the Brand in early 2020.
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He left Michael Jordan’s company in January of 2020, nine months prior to the original expiration date of the deal he had signed. He remained a sneaker free agent throughout his legendary Bubble Playoff run to the NBA Finals until he signed with the prominent overseas brand, Li-Ning.
This is the same brand his friend, Dwyane Wade, help put on the map and signed a lifetime deal with in 2018, continuing his ‘Way of Wade’ line of sneakers. Jimmy would also not take too long to come out with his own sneakers with Li-Ning as he came out with the JB-1s after a couple years of signing with them, a shoe that he’s been wearing all throughout this 2023 NBA Playoffs.
What is Jimmy Butler’s NBA contract?
Jimmy Butler, at age 33, is one of the highest earning players in the NBA. He signed a 3 year contract with the Miami Heat that would pay him $146,393,031 over the course of those three seasons.
During the 2025-26 season, he’s on course to earn $52 million while also having this be the year that he has a player option. He would well into his mid-30s by this point and so it’ll be interesting to see if he will still provide this same level of production 2-3 years down the line and honor his contract the way that he is currently.
