The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 186 — The sneaker deal of the future
Paige Bueckers is a trend setter and she can't even buy alcohol yet
What’s good, family! The Kicks You Wear is back! Feels good to be rapping with y’all again. Missed you.
Quick note: No forum on Wednesday. I’ll be speaking on a panel at the Consumer Goods Summit on how sneaker startups are impacting the culture.
Let’s jump in.
Jaylen Brown should chat with Paige Bueckers
Last week when Jaylen Brown spoke about his sneaker-free agency he said he wanted to sign a deal with a “brand of the future.” Not a legacy act.
Sounds like he wants to get on that Paige Bueckers wave. That’s what she has.
The skinny: The Basketball star signed a three-year NIL deal with StockX that will last her the rest of her college career if she stays through her senior year.
The financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed but Opendorse estimated her NIL value at $382,000 annually last year.
The deal will give Bueckers access to limited sneakers, items and apparel from all brands included on StockX.
It’ll also collect data and provide insight on the partnership to “validate the notion that women athletes can generate interest and impact sales for global partners,” per ESPN.
This is such a brilliant deal. We’ve seen secondary market partnerships before. PJ Tucker and eBay. Kyle Kuzma with GOAT. But this one? It’s different. It feels a bit savvier than its predecessors.
Bueckers gets the same benefits. But with StockX, she’ll be able to do a bit more.
She’ll designing apparel capsules through StockX’s “DropX” portal. She’s curating. Attaching her name to something.
The big chip here, though, is the data she’ll be provided on her partnership.
Why that’s huge: Brands won’t be able to tell her “we don’t know how you’ll perform” because she’ll already be bringing those insights to the table in this deal. She can take that data wherever she wants and make another deal out of it.
Not to mention the fact that she’s paving a path for future female athletes. Her insights make a case for them, too.
There is downside: She’s limited to wearing Nike for team activites, per UCONN NIL rules. She can’t flex her partnership where she has the biggest spotlight — on the court.
But that won’t matter. Through three years she’ll still have built so much equity that, by the time she hits the WNBA, she’ll already have the ball rolling. She can turn this thing in so many different directions.
This is the sneaker deal of the future. Jaylen Brown and everyone else, for that matter, better be taking notes.
Nike is inevitable
You could never escape Nike — even if you wanted to. It is everywhere. And that will soon include the Metaverse.
What’s happening: Nike is prioritizing leaving its footprint in the Metaverse. And not just in one-off situations like that Jordan collab with Fortnite or a Roblox spot, either. They want to be everywhere.
The company filed seven applications in the US Patent and Trademark office for several of its logos and slogans to prepare for their deep dive into this new, virtual frontier, per CNBC.
They also opened up jobs for multiple virtual design roles including one for footwear.
That last step is an important one. It shows us that Nike isn’t just here to ensure its products aren’t being used in illegitimate ways in the virtual space, but that it also wants to expand its products in that world, too.
That’s not surprising: We’ve already seen other corporations do the same. Facebook changed its name to Meta for this reason. Microsoft is on it as we speak. Nike’s following the trend here.
This is them migrating into this new space to ensure they can dominate that, too, just like they do in reality.
We knew this was coming. Nike has been working on it for a while. They filed for their Cryptokicks Patent in 2019 and haven’t looked back.
We’ll have to wait and see how this translates moving forward. But I guarantee you we won’t have to wait very long. Nike is on it.
SPECIAL DELIVERY: Nike’s big bet on Saquon
I’d so been looking to finally getting my hands on Saquon Barkley’s rendition of the Air Trainer III and, let me tell y’all, they are fantastic.
This shoe is excellent. It’s a 2021 redux of a 90’s classic. All of the details we love on the Bo Jacksons are there with a nod to Saquon. It’s great.
But…let’s be honest. NFL player exclusive models for Nike haven’t worked. Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz ring any bells?
Saquon’s shoe could flop, too. NFL players are a big risk for Nike. But this time I think it’s a risk worth taking. I explain why on SD this week.
A great point on Salehe Bembury’s Crocs
So we all know Salehe Bembury has a pair of Crocs coming out. But…we only know Salehe has a pair of Crocs coming out because Salehe keeps telling us he does.
We haven’t heard a peep from Crocs. Salehe’s Instagram has been the only promo for it. This tweet from the great Shelby Ivey Christie made me realize that.
One of two things is happening:
Either Crocs just dropped the model off and left the heavy lifting for Salehe to do
Or Salehe is doing the heavy lifting without realizing that this is actually Crocs’ job to do.
Regardless, though. This isn’t a good look. And I hate to say it, but it makes me a bit uneasy considering the work Crocs has put in with non-Black creatives before Salehe.
This is definitely something to keep an eye on as the release date inches closer and closer.
What’s droppin, bruh?
Kerwin Frost x Adidas Forum Low “Benchmates” — Wednesday, November 17
Nike ACG Air Mowabb — Thursday, November 18
Nike Overbreak SP “Hot Curry” — Friday, November 19
Yeezy 500 “Ash Grey” —Saturday, November 20
Air Jordan 1 “Bordeaux” — Saturday, November 20
Thank y’all so much for rocking with the boy. Happy Monday. Have a fantastic week. Holla at y’all later on.
As always, peace and love. Be safe. Be easy. Be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
Man, I hope Jaylen Brown doesn't sign on with a sneaker reseller. A company that profits off of scalpers and botting, that promotes a system where most sneakers are unobtainable unless you are rich, seems like the exact opposite of his values.