“Thank you, Kobe Bryant, for leaving me $100 million from Adidas!”: Tracy McGrady reveals how grateful he was to the Lakers legend for turning down $200 million

Tracy McGrady talks about how Kobe Bryant turned down a $200 million deal with Adidas, leaving millions for him to take up. 

Tracy McGrady came straight out of high school and into the NBA as a Toronto Raptor with the 9th overall pick, a year after Kobe Bryant had just come out of Lower Merion in 1996. Immediately after finishing out his high school, McGrady was presented with a choice: should he go to college or take a $12 million deal from Adidas? 

Being a teenager, McGrady went with the latter due to the financial security and the fact that the NCAA did not let you capitalize on your name through monetary avenues.  

T-Mac signed a 6 year/ $12 million deal with Adidas and felt good about it considering the fact that a player similar to him in Kobe had signed with them a year earlier.

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Tracy McGrady would eventually go on to sign a lifetime deal with Adidas in 2002, even before his original deal from 1997 expired. This was ‘unprecedented’ in Adidas’s words but was warranted given his first signature shoe with them was a their number one selling shoe. 

Tracy McGrady opens up about Kobe Bryant rejecting a deal from Adidas. 

The same year that Tracy McGrady inked his lifetime partnership with the ‘3 Stripes’, Kobe Bryant opted out of his deal, paying $8 million to get out of his existing contract. Him being displeased with the KB8 II’s is reportedly the reason as to why he wanted out. 

‘The Black Mamba’ became a sneaker free agent in 2002 and for a whole season, tested out various brands like Reebok, Converse, and Air Jordan. Nike would eventually jump the gun and sign Bryant in 2003 and the rest is history.

Also read: “Kobe Bryant was on par with Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson”: When Gregg Popovich lauded the Lakers legend by comparing him to all-time legends

Tracy McGrady recently told ‘SLAM!’ that he was grateful for Kobe leaving Adidas because according to him, they were planning on offering him $200 million to stay. If he were to take that perhaps, they wouldn’t look to sign the Magic superstar to a deal as magnanimous as the one he got. 

“Kobe was about to sign a $200 million deal with Adidas. Who was next in line? I was like ‘Kob, thank you brother. I’m glad you turned down that $200 million because you left me a $!00 million bro.’”