Giannis Antetokounmpo, a Nigerian-Greek NBA player, signed a record-breaking five-year supermax contract agreement with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, this was the highest NBA deal in history, worth $228.2 million. Alex Saratsis, the basketball star’s agent, informed ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski that the contract includes an opt-out after the fourth year.
Antetokounmpo’s ascension in the NBA has made him one of Nike’s biggest stars. He has spent his whole career with the brand, even creating his own shoe line. His association with Nike follows his choice to leave Adidas. This occurred before his NBA career.
Antetokounmpo stated that he met with Adidas representatives and agreed to include his brother Thanasis in the contract. However, the brand broke its pledge in a following meeting.
“He [Adidas rep] brought the contract and put it in front of me, and I’m like, ‘Okay great, where is my brother’s?’” Antetokounmpo said on the Thanalysis Show, according to Bleacher Report. “And he was like ‘We’re not going to sign your brother’s today. You’re going to sign yours and then we’re going to bring your brother in a week to sign his.’ And I was like, ‘Uh uh, no thank you.’”
He mentioned that his family was struggling financially, therefore he was open to accepting any contract offer that came his way. He did, however, state that he was unwilling to sign a contract that his brother was not a part of.
“At the end of the day, if he had put in front of us some toilet paper and some cash next to it, we probably would’ve signed it because he knew we were in need,” Antetokounmpo said. “At the time we weren’t able to take care of our family in the best way. He knew that, he knew our story… I think maybe the people who work above him tried to take advantage.”
Following his inability to strike a deal with Adidas without his brother in the picture, he turned to Nike. According to him, Nike reps were willing to give his brother a shoe contract.
“It was my turn to speak and I said that it’s important for me for it to be a family thing,” Antetokounmpo said. “When you take me, you take my family, my brother, my mom. And she was like, ‘Yeah, sure, whatever.’ After that, we’ve been with Nike and she’s been by our side ever since.”
Since signing with Nike, he has gone on to win an NBA championship and a pair of MVPs. What is more, he has also launched five signature shoes with Nike.
