Kobe Bryant is one of the NBA’s most famous alumni. The boy from Italy rose to great heights and stood in the pantheon of NBA greats. Sonny Vaccaro, the same man who signed Michael Jordan to Nike wanted to sign Bryant to Adidas. Such was the potential he saw in Bryant. Alas, it all came crashing down and the deal met with an end where Kobe himself had to pay $8 million to leave the brand with the three stripes.
Advertisement
Back when he was just in high school, Bryant was already lighting up courts around the world. But in the USA, he wasn’t a known commodity. Hailing from Italy, he was an outsider, a nobody. Bryant was nowhere near the top of the draft boards. But thanks to his dad Joe Bryant’s basketball connections, the right people saw him play.
One of them was Gary Charles a confidant to Sonny Vaccaro. And he helped seal a deal that would put Kobe Bryant on the map. For dad Joe though, it was more about security than Kobe getting fame.
Kobe Bryant’s unique name and Italian heritage were enough for Sonny Vaccaro to sign him to Adidas
As per an excerpt from the book, Three-Ring Circus, Joe Bryant was showcasing his son’s prodigious nature to Gary Charles. Joe said, “I think my kid wants to come right out from high school. But we, as a family, would be worried because there are no guarantees.”, to which Charles replied, “What if I can help you get a guarantee?”.
The guarantee would be in the form of a shoe deal. Charles spoke to Vaccaro, “Sonny, Kobe Bryant can be the kid.” The term kid meant, The One.
Vaccaro needed no more incentive, he knew what he was getting. “And the name—‘Kobe Bryant. There’s something about it. ‘Kobe Bryant from Italy’—it’s intriguing, it’s a little mysterious.”
That was all that was needed and Kobe was already a part of the Adidas family before he even stepped foot into the NBA. A deal that was seen as blockbuster when Bryant started taking over the league.
For a while it all went swimmingly. Bryant was a star but after a bad line of signature sneakers, he wasn’t all that interested. He wanted out.
Kobe Bryant paid $8 million to cut his Adidas contract short and sign with Nike
Bryant and his then agent, Rob Pelinka flew to Germany to meet with Adidas after the Los Angeles Lakers completed the threepeat in 2002.
Adidas laid out plans for signature sneakers and clothing, but the Mamba wasn’t interested. He wanted out. And to that avail, he paid the company $8 million from his own pocket to cut the contract short. The figure comes via various estimates from Wall Street Journal and Sports Illustrated.
He was a sneaker free-agent and he tried on everything. Eventually, he signed with Nike and the rest is well history. Kobe Bryant from Italy ended up with Nike and has since sold a huge number of sneakers.
