- Spencer Haywood is an NBA champion, 4x All-Star and a 2x All-NBA First Team selection
- Haywood was offered the chance at joining Nike with options of either $100,000 as a payment for his marketing services or a 10% stake in the company
- Haywood’s agent went behind his back and chose $100,000, costing Haywood $2.8 billion
The NBA is a business that is booming, seeing $1.4B in revenue in the 2022-2023 season. This is a record. The players are also seeing much higher contracts than in the past, like Boston’s Jaylen Brown netting the richest contract in history at $304 million over five years.
Currently, only two NBA players, past and present, have become billionaires. This is, of course, the two players that sit atop most fans’ G.O.A.T. debates, Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Did you know that there could have been another player who realistically could have become a billionaire? In this article, we take a look at Spencer Haywood and his bad decision that led to him failing to reach billionaire status.
Spencer Haywood’s Agent Turns Down Deal Of A Lifetime
Spencer Haywood had a great NBA career, most notably with the Seattle SuperSonics, finishing with averages of 20.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Haywood was a 4x All-Star and a 2x All-NBA First Team selection.
The biggest achievement in Haywood’s NBA career was winning the 1979-80 NBA championship on the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a rookie Magic Johnson. Even before Haywood reached the NBA, he was a basketball star, playing in the ABA.
Haywood was named the 1969–70 ABA MVP, as well as being named the 1970 ABA All-Star Game MVP. This wasn’t all Haywood would achieve in the ABA; he also was named the ABA Rookie of the Year in the 1969–70 season. Yes, Haywood was a rookie when he won the MVP.
In his rookie season, Haywood also led the ABA in scoring with 30.0 points per game and rebounding at 19.5 rebounds per game. So, it is safe to say Haywood was a player any company would want to be associated with them.
This was exactly what Nike saw in Haywood, and they went after the basketball star. At the time Nike approached Haywood, which was in the early 1970s, they were not the huge company they are today.
Nike was originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports and was founded on January 25, 1964, by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman. Knight initially sold his shoes out from the trunk of his car, and he quickly realized people loved them.
They loved the quality of the shoes, as they matched that of the popular shoes of the day, Adidas and Pumas, yet, they were being sold a lot cheaper than those other brands. In 1971, the company changed its name to Nike, Inc., named after the Greek goddess of victory.
The company’s first logo, known as the “Swoosh,” was designed by a graphic design student Carolyn Davidson in 1971. The logo is still in use today and is considered one of the most recognizable logos in the world.
Today, Nike is one of the largest sportswear companies in the world, with revenues of over $34 billion in 2020. Now, considering how big Nike has become, you’d think Haywood would want to take the best deal possible with Nike; this is what Haywood wanted.
Nike offered Haywood two deals. One that would benefit the basketball star immediately and one that would be for a potentially huge payday in the future.
The two offers Nike gave to Haywood were either to choose $100,000 as a payment for his marketing services or accept a 10% stake in the company. Haywood wanted to take the 10% stake, and this was what he agreed to.
While Haywood was out playing on a road trip, his agent decided to sell the shares of the company and take the $100,000. The agent ended up walking away with his 10%, which was $10,000.
This was a stab in the back, especially when you factor in that if Haywood actually received the 10%, he would have made $2.8 billion today.
“I went on the road, and he [agent] had the power of attorney letter,” Haywood said of his agent. “He couldn’t figure out how to get his 10%, so he sold my stock for the cash. I lost about $2.8 billion.”
Haywood would have a nice partnership with Nike, but it is a shame it didn’t turn out the way it should have. Unfortunately, in the past, many players were taken advantage of by their agents or business partners. Or, like what apparently happened in Haywood’s case, his agent didn’t understand how the business worked to get his client the 10%.
Still, today Haywood has a net worth of $5 million, and he’s a basketball Hall of Famer. So, it’s safe to say Haywood has done well for himself. It just could have been better. $2.8 billion better.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
