It appears Puma has agreed to its first deal with a basketball athlete in 20 years with the signing of Marvin Bagley III.
Marvin Bagley III, Duke forward and projected-top 3 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft seems ready to lead the charge in a new wave for Puma Basketball.
Originally reported by Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, the standout power forward has, according to sources that spoke to The Athletic, signed a five-year deal with Puma. It is rumored to be the largest shoe deal for a rookie since back when Kevin Durant signed his with Nike (that deal was incredibly rich at $60 million with a $10 million signing bonus, then the second largest deal ever).
Puma, which directed focus away from the basketball market for years, has not signed an NBA athlete since Vince Carter signed coming out of college. This may not be the only signing we see with Puma either, as Krawczynski has reported that the brand is in active negotiations with several other draft prospects.
Puma seems very active as of late; it is rumored that the brand has invested nearly $50 million into its new basketball shoe division, and the company has been making power moves like cementing lasting partnerships with the Rihannas of the world, and investing new technologies. Now, with basketball footwear declining in market share, a shift back towards one of the sports that helped it become a strong competitor in the sneaker industry could be a risky move for Puma.
Does the brand have what it takes to gain market share during what could be considered a down time for many competitors? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Marvin Bagley, projected to be one of the top picks in the NBA draft next week, is going to sign a five-year deal with Puma that is expected to be the largest rookie shoe deal since Kevin Durant, sources tell @TheAthletic
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) June 14, 2018
Puma is believed to be negotiating with other draft picks as well to jump into the NBA shoe game.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) June 14, 2018
Source: Jon Krawczynski / Images via Getty Images
Puma making basketball shoes now?? Well lets find out if they can step up to the big boyz
They have made several basketball shoes back in the 70’s when Walt Frazier was in the NBA and endorsed Vince Carter in the late 90’s. Didn’t you realize that Puma actually made basketball shoes back then?
Holy smokes this is so outta left field, arn’t they owned by addidas? Won’t that cannibalize adidas market share?
Isn’t that why Reeboks droped off from bball besides retros?
Otherwise good luck Puma
No. Reebok is owned by Adidas. Puma was started by one of the brothers that started Adidas. That’s about as far as their connection goes. That and they are both based out of Germany.
The vision here is that there will be Puma Basketball Shoes with a Boost a.k.a. Energy sole at the outlets for round about 50€ here in Germany. Yay.
I’m looking forward to it.
the problem is that NRGY doesn’t feel anything like boost….it’s not terrible but it’s not anywhere close to being boost
I remember when VC signed w/ Puma then quickly decided to find a way out of the contract so he could be the poster boy for Nike Shox. I hope this Bagley deal works but I seriously doubt it will. Puma just cant get any traction in the basketball market. all the stupid lifestyle products they make completely overshadow even the good performance stuff they make. I really hope they give us something legit
This has John Wall written all over it. Enjoy that blown ACL Marvin!