Originally published July 18, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified July 18, 2007 at 9:44 AM

Durant turns down $70M offer from Adidas, picks Nike

Sonics forward Kevin Durant scored the second-largest endorsement contract for an NBA rookie when he signed a seven-year, $60 million deal...

By Percy Allen

Seattle Times staff reporter

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Sonics forward Kevin Durant scored the second-largest endorsement contract for an NBA rookie when he signed a seven-year, $60 million deal with Nike that included a $10 million signing bonus.

The Beaverton, Ore.-based shoe and apparel company and Durant's agent Aaron Goodwin confirmed the announcement Wednesday.

According to industry sources, Durant declined a seven-year, $70 million deal with Adidas that included a $12 million signing bonus largely because he has a long history with Nike dating to the eighth grade in Washington, D.C.

"At the end of the day, Kevin has been with Nike his whole career and he felt comfortable with them," Goodwin said. "He took the time to give Adidas the opportunity and they're a great company, but he chose the company that he's more familiar with. And we build brands on authenticity and it's more authentic for him to be somewhere where he wants to be and he's comfortable."

Durant's sneaker deal will include a signature shoe that will be unveiled after his rookie season. In the past months, he has talked about wanting to endorse a mid-range price shoe, and Goodwin said those plans are in the works.

Durant's deal falls short of the $90 million deal that Nike signed with Cleveland forward LeBron James in 2003.

Former Kentwood High star Rodney Stuckey, who was drafted No. 15 by Detroit, signed a multi-year shoe-endorsement deal with Adidas. Specific terms were not disclosed.

Note

• Sonics rookies Kevin Durant (29) and Jeff Green (25) combined to hit 26 of 33 free throws and score 54 points, but Seattle lost its Rocky Mountain Revue opener, 102-88, to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. Durant hit just 7 of 21 field-goal attempts.

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