Dallas Mavericks Guard Kyrie Irving has reportedly signed a five-year endorsement deal with Chinese sportswear brand, ANTA. Details regarding the financial benefits of the deal remain under wraps, but Shams Charania of The Athletic informs NBA fans that Irving will become the brand’s Chief Creative Officer under the terms of the agreement. In this role, he will have the ability to “recruit/sign players and other collaborators, and bring a level of manufacturing to the United States to kickstart ANTA’s process to fully distribute in US.”
Irving finds a new home at ANTA months after cutting ties with Nike. Both parties went their separate ways after the 2016 NBA Champion shared a link to a documentary called Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America. The Anti-Defamation League characterized the film as a proponent of “beliefs commonly found among antisemitic and extremist factions of the BHI movement.” After Irving shared a link to the film and refused to apologize for doing so, the NBA suspended him for eight games.
“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” a statement from Nike reads.
“To that end, we’ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8. We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”
Since the suspension, Irving has found a new home in Dallas with the Mavericks. He recently signed a three-year deal with the franchise worth more than $120 million. He will look to build upon a 20-game stretch with the Mavericks last season in which he average an impressive $26.9 points per game while shooting 51% from the field and nearly 40% from three-point range.
Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving has signed a five-year endorsement deal with Chinese sportswear brand ANTA, plus the unique position of Chief Creative Officer at the company, industry sources told @TheAthletic @Stadium. Irving’s management company, A11Even, negotiated the deal. pic.twitter.com/HpJej7HU5X
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 12, 2023
