Kevin Durant could leave Nike as reports indicated that the Oklahoma City Thunder received an offer to move to Under Armour once his current sponsorship contract expires.
Roc Nation Sports reportedly told ESPN that Under Armour offered a 10-year deal worth between $265 and $285 million to Durant, who has been with Nike since his NBA career started in 2007.
Durant visited Under Armour's headquarters last week where the former Texas standout reportedly worked out using the company's product. The company did not discuss financial details of a potential deal, but Durant was reportedly impressed with the company's pitch.
"The pitch, at the time, didn't include talk of specific numbers, sources said, but it impressed Durant with attention to detail about his life, the hometown flair and the return on investment of its stock, which makes up part of his compensation," Darren Rovell of ESPN wrote.
Aside from the financial side of the deal, Under Armour also offered impressive incentives such as receiving company stock along with a community center that could be named after his mother.
Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank has been eyeing Durant over the past several years, knowing that the reigning Most Valuable Player would be a huge asset to the company.
"Durant's shoe deal free agency to Under Armour turned out to be a bigger deal because of the interest expressed by the company's founder and CEO Kevin Plank," Rovell wrote. "Sources say Plank felt Durant could accomplish two major goals: growing its small shoe business and improving its international presence that has been lagging behind its North American sales growth."
Durant's transfer to Under Armour is not yet a sure thing, though, as Nike holds right to match any offer to the 25-year-old superstar as stated in the soon-to-expire deal. If Nike matches Under Armour's offer, the All-Star forward will have no choice other than staying with Nike.
Reports indicated that Durant received a $20 million offer from Nike - based and minimum loyalty combined - and it is still unsure at this point whether or not the company is willing to increase their offer.
If Nike opted not to match Under Armour's offer, he would be the second superstar to jump ship from Nike to UA after Stephen Curry also accepted a deal with the company late last year.
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