In the Summer of 2014, Kevin Durant was considering making a move from Nike to another brand such as Adidas or Under Armour. Under Armour, based in Durant's hometown of Maryland, even reportedly offered to give KD $285 million as well as a community center in his mother’s name.
The Swoosh ultimately gave Durant a 10-year $300 million contract, which "was more than enough" to prevent him from taking UA's offer. In a recent interview with ESPN's Darren Rovell, Durant touched on his sneaker free agency from three and a half years ago and explained why he decided not to leave Nike.
Of course, the $300 million was a major factor but it was not the only reason Durant turned down the Under Armour and Adidas deals. Simply put, he did not want to "start over."
Per ESPN:
You might be part of what was one of the biggest endorsement battles in the history of sports when, in the summer of 2014, you were a sneaker free agent. Nike ultimately beat out Under Armour with a 10-year, $300 million offer. What was that like?
"That process was just too much mentally because I love Nike so much. I knew I had a supreme skill that needed to be compensated for, and I knew I played my way into having these negotiations. But I didn't want to start over at Under Armour or Adidas. I knew where I wanted to be, and $300 million was more than enough. I'm now on my 11th Nike shoe."
Durant's 11th signature shoe, the Nike KD 11, will reportedly make it's retail debut on June 18th in a black and grey colorway.
You can check out Rovell's full discussion with Durant in the post embedded below.