Dominate the Super Bowl

Clearly, the development of events once again broke expectations. After the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans ended, the "blockbuster contract" rumors with Nike completely stole the spotlight, to the point where the game itself seemed like a mere backdrop.

And the result was—

What was expected to provoke heated debate and become the focus of the League's chatter, "Li Wei vs. Watson," just slipped away silently without making any splash, leaving Watson, who had prepared a bellyful of trash talk, to be hung out to dry.

Watson: ???

Even though Li Wei claimed at the post-game news conference that he knew nothing—a complete truth; the rumors among the reporters were still exceptionally noisy.

Nike signing a rookie isn't news, but when the rookie is a running back and a Chinese player who has already set numerous records, that's news; what's more, the rumor emphasized it was an epic blockbuster.

The rumors, buzzing and bustling, but the Nike team didn't make the melon-eating public wait too long.

On Tuesday morning, less than thirty-six hours after the Sunday night game ended, Nike held a formal press conference in New York.

It was a massive affair.
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Nike widely issued invitations, over four hundred reporters received invites, speculations about Li Wei's contract flew everywhere, but they still found they had thought too small.

"We are extremely honored to welcome Li Wei to the Nike family. Li Wei is an exceptional player whose courage and belief shine on the field..."

Bla bla bla, all official pleasantries, but where's the real meat?

3.5 million US dollars a year, a five-year contract.

A true blockbuster, living up to its name.

Casually, nonchalantly, Li Wei burst onto the scene, becoming the first in the League in terms of brand endorsement contracts and raised the ceiling a whole level up.

Living up to expectations, the previously buzzing rumors completely matched what was anticipated, no wonder Nike held a press conference to formally announce the partnership with such seriousness.

Li Wei was not present at the New York press conference venue.

In fact, Li Wei still brought a small surprise.

At the press conference, the venue connected with Li Wei via a live video link, inviting him to appear on the big screen at the event.

Normally, this move isn't novel, countless players have done this before, but the difference was Li Wei didn't appear indoors but at the Kansas City Chiefs' training field; moreover, a professional live broadcast team followed Li Wei, completing the connection under the blue sky and green fields.

Li Wei, while preparing for training, communicated with the press conference venue with ease and poise, turning the "announcement of the partnership signing" into a vibrant showcase, undoubtedly shocking the media once more for a while.

The expression was just like when people first saw Michael Jackson release the music video for "Thriller."

Finally, Li Wei turned to run towards his teammates like Mahomes and Kelsey, getting ready for training, his number twenty-three figure receding into the distance under the sun, the screen freezes.

It's easy to imagine that after the press conference, besides the contract itself, Li Wei's mode of appearance will also inevitably become a hot topic on social networks.

Just as the journalists were shocked by how easily Li Wei broke the NFL endorsement contract ceiling, they soon realized they still lacked the vision and boldness, like frogs at the bottom of a well, completely failing to see the big picture.

Nike then announced that they would collaborate with Li Wei to design a brand new product line, including but not limited to jerseys, sneakers, hats, etc., and not only football shoes but also running shoes, basketball shoes, and more.

The real highlight is that Nike said Li Wei would "fully participate" in the process.

At first, reporters thought that Nike was designing sneakers according to Li Wei's taste and feedback, possibly involving him in the product design. They didn't fully grasp the meaning of "full participation." But after the press conference ended, rumors spread and ignited a heated discussion:

Profit sharing.

It was like a stone that stirred a thousand ripples.

Shocking, sensational, crazy.

"The second man in history!"

In the long years of professional sports and brand sponsorship, after Michael Jordan, he was the second person to receive sales profit sharing from a brand; moreover, it was directly wrestled from Nike, the current industry leader, which from any perspective was a groundbreaking and massive deal.

Not just football, but all other sports and brands across the North American continent were plunged into shock, swept into this storm, until now when they finally understood what a blockbuster meant.

Although Nike didn't concede, in the face of such blockbuster news, Nike also didn't deny it, with the subtext being abundantly clear.

Rumor has it, LeBron's team was outright enraged and opened negotiations with Nike's team, unfortunately to no avail, with Nike taking a particularly hard stance. Although they needed to keep a firm grip on LeBron's contract, different situations naturally have different bottom lines, and despite his best efforts, LeBron couldn't leverage the situation.

Rumor has it, Curry's team also went into deep discussions with Under Armour, with a contract renewal imminent. Now, everything needed to be reconsidered, with both sides having to weigh their options.

Debate, of course, existed since this was not like the time when Jordan signed with Nike. Back then, all brands were mocking Nike for their madness, and no one would follow suit or jump on the bandwagon; but now, the partnership between Jordan and Nike had become the most successful collaboration in history.

Therefore, the subsequent storm and turmoil were likely to continue for a while.

However.

The market had already reacted first—

The Kansas City Chiefs' number twenty-three jersey soared to the champion position on the jersey sales ranking list within a single day.

Always, football jersey sales have been one of the hottest professional sports merchandise in the North American continent, with fans often owning more than one jersey.

Among them, quarterbacks have long dominated the sales ranking charts, occupying seven out of the top ten spots or even a complete sweep was not unusual.

Occasionally, wide receivers, tight ends, linemen, and defensive ends could also shine and be favored by fans.

But for a running back, it was relatively more challenging, even for Adrian Peterson, it was hard to consistently hold a position in the top ten of the league jersey sales rankings.

Since Li Wei's remarkable emergence, his jersey sales had been steadily increasing; unfortunately, the number of Kansas City Chiefs fans was still not enough to make a significant breakthrough. Even within the Kansas City Chiefs, the jersey sales of Smith, Kelsey, Berry, and others slightly led Li Wei.

Despite this, with his dominating and steady performance, Li Wei's jersey sales steadily broke into the top thirty and securely held the first place among rookies.

In terms of burst sales, Garrett and Trubisky's jersey sales had soared into the top ten after the draft ended, suppressing Li Wei. But in terms of stability and sustainability, Li Wei was far ahead of the 2017 rookie class.

Until now.

Li Wei's jersey sales rocketed, powerfully claiming the champion's throne.

And this was just the beginning.

Next, the Kansas City Chiefs' number twenty-three jersey kept a firm hold on the champion spot, one week, two weeks, three weeks, with the popularity remaining high throughout.

Nike had just signed Li Wei, and the product line hadn't even had time to start designing, yet the endorsement effect was already immediately evident.