Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Yu Fei and his entourage had just disembarked from the airplane when a large group of media were already waiting outside the airport. "Excuse us, please step aside." Lin Kaiwen and Lawson deftly positioned themselves to Yu Fei's left and right, guarding him like they were escorting a king away, strictly forbidding any media without permission to approach. "Frye, is the rumor about you and Nike true?" "Is Kristen Stewart your girlfriend?" "Reebok claims that you have reached an agreement…" The reporters blurted out their questions without hesitation. But Yu Fei did not entertain a single one, heading straight to the car Reebok had arranged for him outside the airport. "These people are insane." Lawson said helplessly, "Big Fei, it's time to hire a few bodyguards, just like the original No. 23 did." Images of the burly men who often followed Jordan flashed through Yu Fei's mind. He had to admit, such matters indeed required professionals. After all, Lin Kaiwen and Lawson were not professionals. "You handle it," Yu Fei said. Lawson laughed, "As long as you agree, the line of people willing to be your bodyguard could stretch all the way to Seattle." Yu Fei smiled and said no more. Shortly after, the Reebok car dropped them off at their destination. It was a building, also the Phoenix branch, but the name of the building was easily reminiscent of Yu Fei. It was called "The Chosen Building." For this All-Star event, there were multiple people sponsored by Reebok selected for the main game. Those close to Yu Fei included Roy, Yao Ming, and Iverson. There was no need to mention Roy; it had been Yu Fei who had introduced him to Reebok. Yao Ming had switched to Reebok after receiving an insulting offer from Nike. Due to Yu Fei's meteoric rise over the years, Reebok had transformed from a secondary option in the endorsement market to a primary choice. It was unfortunate that, in these years, Reebok had not managed to snag a single one of the hot commodities. Durant had been snapped up by Nike, while Ross had been signed by Adidas. Now, with Yu Fei's endorsement contract nearing its end, there was a do-or-die determination within Reebok. Last year's financial crisis swept the globe, the economic environment wasn't good, and there was no replacement for a prime figure like Yu Fei. Yu Fei arrived at the top floor, where Reebok's party was in full swing. He first saw Yao Ming. Yao Ming was holding a drink, smiling as he listened to a middle-aged Caucasian man speak. However, Yu Fei's arrival immediately shifted the atmosphere of the party in another direction. Staff from sales, publicity, marketing, creative departments, and the production line bosses, along with Reebok's current CEO Paul Arrington, all made their way toward him. "I've always said, the party only truly starts when you arrive." Arrington asked with concern, "Is everything alright, Frye?" Yu Fei smiled, "Everything's fine, I hope I'm not interrupting." Then, Yu Fei entered the scene. Apart from his agent Trem, Lin Kaiwen and Lawson consciously stepped away. After Yu Fei greeted some people, he and Arrington moved to a nearby office. "It's much quieter here," Yu Fei said. "I like it here." Arrington took the opportunity to say, "I'm glad you like it; after all, this building is technically your property." "Oh?" Yu Fei was unaware that he owned such a building in Phoenix. Arrington explained, "Two years ago, Mrs. Yu attended a company event on your behalf and liked the place. Coincidentally, we had an endorsement fee that hadn't been transferred to your account, so we used this building to offset that." Trem nodded at Yu Fei, indicating that this was indeed the case. Yu Fei remembered the incident, but he hadn't expected the building to be as grand as the Bass Building in Los Angeles; its value must be far greater than the sponsorship fee back then. "It seems I've taken advantage of the company," Yu Fei said with a faint smile. "Please don't say that," Arrington said. "The revenue you brought to the company over the past seven years is a hundredfold the value of this building." At that moment, Trem, who was meant to be the main speaker in the room, began to speak, "However, if Reebok wants to walk into the next seven years with Frye, there must be a corresponding gesture." The topic of renewal had surfaced only at that moment. Having worked for Reebok for nearly 20 years, Arrington was acutely aware of Yu Fei's value and knew the company couldn't afford to lose him. "Seven years is too short," Arrington said with cheesy affection. "We want Frye for the rest of his life." Yu Fei, however, felt a shiver of goosebumps all over. "If the person saying this to me were Scarlett Johansson, I'd become a married man tonight," Yu Fei mocked himself. Trem caught a hint of Reebok's intentions from Arrington's words. They wanted to sign a lifetime contract with Yu Fei, to lock him down directly. Wishful thinking! Trem sneered inwardly. Yu Fei was only 27 years old, far from the age to discuss lifetime contracts. "For any athlete under 30, a lifetime contract is like a marriage, an irreversible mistake," Trem warned Arrington cautiously, "You're getting a bit too greedy." Before coming to Phoenix, Yu Fei had already made a plan with Trem for his renewal. Whether it was a renewal or a switch, the term of the next endorsement contract should best be controlled within 5-6 years. For Fei, renewing with Reebok was the first choice. He had absolutely no interest in going to Nike to replace Jordan, because Jordan had already been replaced. The man who did this was not James, nor Curry, but Tiger Woods. However, golf's limited influence couldn't make someone a transcendent giant like Jordan. But even with no interest in Nike, they still needed to utilize Nike as leverage. The existence of every price booster is meaningful. The rejection of the lifetime endorsement by the Yu Fei camp gave Paul Arrington a real scare. From Yu Fei's standpoint, there seemed to be no problem. But Reebok had too much to consider. The company, established over half a century ago, reached its peak in the 1980s when Jane Fonda's fitness craze made their exercise gear a nationwide bestseller. In the athletic footwear market, Reebok was the dominator of the 1980s, with annual sales exceeding one billion US dollars. There's a saying in the investment world, even a pig can fly if it stands at the air vent. Indeed, Reebok took off on the wave of the nationwide fitness trend. But Nike, on the verge of bankruptcy, placed a heavy bet on No. 23, then sold hundreds of millions of dollars within a year and swept the basketball market like a tornado. In 1988, Nike replaced Reebok's ecological niche to become the industry leader. From the basketball to the soccer fields, then to American football, hockey... everything sports-related was overshadowed by Nike. Reebok went from a major to a minor brand. Their industry and sales figures continually dwindled until the millennium when they even thought of gambling one billion US dollars on James for a turnaround. But in the end, just like Jordan back in the day, Yu Fei unexpectedly rose and swept the basketball industry. He allowed Reebok to compete with Nike in the US domestic basketball sports merchandise market, and even more impressively, he dominated the market in Asia. The economic potential gathered around this cash cow was immeasurable. Reebok was determined to offer Yu Fei an unprecedented lifetime contract, but as soon as they opened their mouth, it was shut. After a conversation lasting several minutes, Trem clarified that the term Yu Fei wanted for the renewal contract was five years. This required Reebok to reassess the renewal contract for Yu Fei. Therefore, today's negotiation ended here. "Don't be nervous, Paul," Yu Fei said with a smile, "Things will definitely be resolved. I like being a part of Reebok, and renewing with Reebok is also my first choice." He smiled warmly, enthusiastic, delivering his own goodwill after Trem laid out the tough talk on his behalf. But this goodwill couldn't represent the Yu Fei camp. It represented only himself. But isn't the actions of the Yu Fei camp a reflection of Yu Fei's own will? Yu Fei's smile stuck in Arrington's mind. Oddly enough, this smile didn't bring back any memory of him as the face of Reebok, wearing No. 44. The smile brought back more distant memories of No. 23, representing Nike as a major face of the world's strongest nation. His smile stood for lofty willpower, symbolizing triumph, invincibility, and the faith of people worldwide. That day, Arrington wrote in his memo: "Astronomical amounts of money and seven years of friendship couldn't move Frye. He wants more." A few days later, Arrington added to the memo: "He wants everything." ※※※ Back at the party, Yu Fei suddenly asked, "Aern, why did you say marriage is an irreversible mistake? Are you hinting that I shouldn't get married?" "I'm actually curious as to why you haven't married yet," quipped Trem, "Your mother is quite concerned about this." "It's usually not my problem; I can't give women a sense of security, which is why they leave me," Yu Fei said, with a look of longing for marriage, his gaze fixed on a woman at the party. "Every time I meet someone I'm attracted to, I feel the urge to marry them." Having said that, Yu Fei was about to approach that woman. "So, what's the deal with you and Rachel?" Trem gossiped. "We're not together anymore." Trem asked, "Why? Because of Twilight Girl?" "No, no," said Yu Fei, "it's just that I never really wanted to marry her."