Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving is back in the sneaker game following his breakup with sportswear giants Nike last year.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the controversial star has signed a five-year shoe deal with Chinese brand ANTA just four days after putting pen to paper on a three-year contract with the Mavs worth a reported $126 million.
Charania also pointed to some unique perks in his report, disclosing that Kyrie is also set to be the Chief Creative Officer at the company and will be able to recruit other athletes. The deal was negotiated by the player’s A11Even management company.
“I’m incredibly excited about this collaboration,” Irving was quoted as saying in reference to the deal. “The first step in becoming partners is to share the same dreams, goals, and missions. “
ANTA’s rapid development over the years, openness to creativity, willingness to embrace family and teamwork, expertise in areas like product innovation and manufacturing processes have left a remarkable impression on not just me, but also my A11Even team who will work side by side with me in creating something truly generationally special.”
The 2016 NBA champion had been a Nike athlete from 2011, his rookie year. However, things came to a halt on that front last December after he put out a tweet featuring a link to a film considered to be antisemitic.
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Irving kept wearing Nike sneakers after he was dropped by the company but covered the swoosh logo up with tape bearing personally written messages.
