Dwyane Wade officially unveiled his 7th signature sneaker with Chinese apparel company Li-Ning today at an event which coincided with the announcement that he has signed a lifetime contract with the brand.
Wade, 36, appeared at an event in Beijing today with the company's CEO, Li Ning, where he talked about the lifetime deal ahead of the Way of Wade 7 unveiling.
"This was something I needed to do from the standpoint of building something," Wade told The Associated Press in a phone interview from China. "That's what I set out to do. This word we'll talk about, legacy, I tried to set out to build a legacy for myself and my family. And after six years of that, it's cool to be here today."
"Both sides see the benefits of it," Wade said. "We see the opportunity to do something special."
According to ESPN, financial details of the contract were not revealed, though it's believed the total value to Wade could reach tens of millions of dollars.
Wade began his partnership with Li-Ning in 2012, after years with Converse and Jordan Brand, and his new lifte time deal will reportedly see the 3x NBA champion take "a greater role" in youth developmental camps and basketball clinics in China, as well as other parts of the world in the coming years.
In regards to his NBA future, Wade tells the Associated Press, "When I get back from China, I’ll focus on that. Right now, I'm focused on the game after basketball. Whatever happens in basketball, it happens. I've done everything that I can to this point to put myself that I'm in this position I am today, where I can do something that hasn't been done globally yet. The basketball will take care of itself. I'll sit down and figure that out once I get back from this tour at some point."