Dirk Nowitzki never took the spotlight on the court, even though he spent millions of dollars.
Although most NBA superstars have built their brands through endorsement trading, advertising and commercial venture capital, the Dallas Mavericks legend has gone a different path.
Nowitzki's only major recognition agreement in his 21-year NBA career was his partnership with Nike, which is exactly what he wanted.
“There is certainly no shortage of quotes,” Nowitzki told Spiegel via NBC Sports. “You can't believe how many watch manufacturers have sent me their models. It's like that. I've paid all of them. I'm happy with what I have. How crazy you have to be when you can afford everything but still mess up your life in a variety of advertising dates.
Nowitzki told Bloomberg that he had no business manager or agent after leading the Mavericks to his first ever NBA title in 2011. Instead, he relies on childhood friends from Germany to help review the contract before signing it.
“When you represent Nike, you can't always wear the older stuff,” Nowitzki told Dallas News in 2015. “You can't walk in and wear clothes from five or six years ago. So what I do is, some older stuff, once in a while, I pack some bags and take it to Germany with me. I've got a bunch of guy friends that I grew up with that play basketball that are also 6-foot-10, 6-foot-11, 7-feet. And they can usually clean me They can have everything, old shirts, old sweaters, sweatshirts and all shorts, shoes. ”
True to Nike from draft night to retirement and equally loyal to Dallas, Nowitzki famously accepted a discount contract to help owner Mark Cuban Chase free agents. Despite this, he still received only $251 million in salary.
For him, that's enough.
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