Zion Williamson Reportedly Offered $10 Million As Sneaker War Intensifies

Zion Williamson has not yet declared for the 2019 NBA Draft and multi-million dollar deals are already coming his way. The Duke Blue Devils forward is set to become the center of a bidding war between apparel companies that are interested in signing the country’s top prospect, with as much as $10 million being reportedly put on the table as a signing bonus.

The All-American is wanted by multiple brands, with NBA insiders expecting him to sign a sneaker deal well before the Draft Lottery in May. ESPN’s Nick DePaula initially reported there were as many as six brands fighting over Williamson — Nike, Adidas, Puma, Under Armour, New Balance and Anta.

Williamson could be on his way to becoming one of three highest-paid sneaker endorsers before being drafted, joining an elite club that now consists of LeBron James and Kevin Durant. The former was courted by multiple brands in 2003 before he signed an $87 million deal over seven years with Nike before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Durant, on the other hand, was courted by Adidas and Nike and he chose the latter, who offered him a deal of $60 million over seven years, which he renewed with new terms in 2014. And former Nike, Reebok and Adidas marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro believes Williamson's bidding war is going to be the biggest ever.

"In my lifetime, I think it's going to be the biggest bidding war ever done,” Vaccaro told ESPN, talking about the interest brands have in Williamson. "I would put them all on go."

DePaula is now insisting more brands have entered the fray, with one of them coming from China, while another unnamed brand said to be willing to offer the Blue Devils forward $10 million to sign a deal with it.

Vaccaro, a veteran in the sports marketing world, was the one who plotted to sign Michael Jordan for Nike in 1984 and was also instrumental in signing Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady to Adidas before they had even played a single NBA game. He admitted that Williamson was the most marketable person he has seen.

"If Zion doesn't change, I predict that he will be the first basketball athlete at 18 years old that the world is rooting for to become a billionaire. I say billionaire, very easily," Vaccaro said. "He is going to have an opportunity to be the face of every company and every major corporation. He is the most marketable person I've seen, for a lot of different reasons."