Spencer Haywood was one of the best power forwards of his time, becoming a 4-time All-Star and 2-time All-NBA First Team in his career. He was an icon for the Seattle SuperSonics, setting various historic records for the franchise from his time in the 1970s. All his All-Star and All-NBA appearances came during his time in Seattle, with the star even getting his jersey retired by the now-defunct franchise in 2007.
Haywood was extremely popular during this time and was in talks to sign with a shoe company called ‘Blue Ribbon Sports’. He sat down with the founder of the company, Phil Knight, and was given a proposition to either accept $100,000 as a payment for his marketing services or accept a 10% stake in the company.
Blue Ribbon Sports went on to become Nike and are now the leading sports apparel maker in the world. Haywood wanted to accept the 10% stake, which would be worth more than $2.8 billion today but ended up cashing out early because of his agent.
Spencer Haywood should have been the first athlete billionaire.
But a small mistake in 1973 cost him over $2.8 billion dollars.
Here's the insane story: pic.twitter.com/7cmQhMt3sL
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) August 7, 2022
2) Thanks to his popularity a lot of brands wanted to work with Haywood.
One of them was Blue Ribbon Sports.
Interestingly…
A few years later they would change their name to Nike.
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) August 7, 2022
4) Most people told him to take the money, but a few said to go with the equity.
So what did Haywood ultimately decide?
He took the 10% equity.
But things got nutty after that… pic.twitter.com/4fiqvha61S
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) August 7, 2022
6) Nike became the most valuable apparel company in the world.
If Haywood's agent wouldn't have sold the 10% stake…
It would have been worth over $2.8B today. pic.twitter.com/7uW4stmmEH
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) August 7, 2022
7) Haywood never became salty.
He is quoted in an interview saying:
“Bitterness will eat you up. Let it go.”
Hindsight is always 20/20.
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) August 7, 2022
After Haywood was offered the deal by Knight, many people close to him suggested he takes the $100,000 as cash instead of taking 10% equity of the company. However, he chose the equity but was made to sell the stake by his agent. A similar deal was offered to Magic Johnson in 1979, but he passed on it to sign with Converse, a decision he regrets to this day.
As his agent couldn’t get a 10% cut of a possible stock option, he made Haywood sell the 10% stake for $100,000 so that he could pocket the $10,000 he was entitled to. While Spencer getting $90,000 in 1973 meant a lot, it stands as chump change compared to what he could have had long-term if he stuck with the Nike equity and didn’t have an agent in his ear telling him to sell it.
Haywood could have become the first billionaire in basketball with that Nike stake, considering how the company boomed after its association with athletes like Michael Jordan. MJ would become the first billionaire in the sport because of his ties with Nike and them, allowing MJ to build the ‘Jordan’ brand under the Nike umbrella.
The only other person to become a billionaire in the NBA is LeBron James, another player with a deep relationship with Nike. LeBron has a lifetime contract with the brand that is expected to net him over a billion dollars as part of the contract alone.
Haywood missed out on a massive opportunity in 1973 and one that he definitely still thinks about. Nobody saw Nike becoming the force that it did, but at least Haywood attempted to show his belief in the company and take ownership over a one-time payout. One agent who was more concerned about his bottom line swooped in and cost Haywood generational wealth.
