Basketball legend Kobe Bryant's estate parts ways with footwear brand
The deal, which started way back in 2003 and extended in 2016, came to an end after Kobe Bryant's estate fail to reach an agreement this month.
According to a statement released by the brand, “Kobe Bryant was an important part of Nike's deep connection to consumers. He pushed us and made everyone around him better. Though our contractual relationship has ended, he remains a deeply loved member of the Nike family.”
The basketball star was able to release 11 different models from his signature line during his playing career and continued on after his retirement from basketball in 2016.
Kobe was heavily involved in the vision and design of his shoes. However, since his retirement from basketball, Bryant and his estate grew more and more frustrated with their partners due to very limited products that were being released and the availability of kid's sizes. This continued on until his death in 2020.
Source: @kobebryant on Instagram
His wife, Vanessa Bryant, oversaw all of his affairs since his passing in 2020 and grew frustrated regarding the manner of how his shoes were being produced and released.
During negotiations, Vanessa and Kobe's estate were hoping for a more structured contract that fell into the same lines as Lebron's and Michael Jordan's deals.
"It seems fitting that more NBA players wear my husband's product than any other signature shoe. My hope will always be to allow Kobe's fans to get and wear his products. I will continue to fight for that. Kobe's products sell out in seconds. That says everything,” Vanessa said to ESPN.
The offer from the brand fell short of expectations and the two camps fail to agree to an extension.
“I was hoping to forge a lifelong partnership with them that reflects my husband's legacy. We will always do everything we can to honor Kobe and Gigi's legacies. That will never change.,” Vanessa continued.
This doesn't come to a surprise as it was recently revealed that Kobe himself was in the talks of leaving the brand to create his own brand. The late basketball star even met with a creative agency to see how they could potentially design and help him with future releases.
The final release from Kobe line to date is known as the Kobe 6 'Grinch', which was restocked just this month, to commemorate Bryant's final game with the NBA. It is one of the most coveted sneakers in his line of basketball shoes.
The news came well after Vanessa recently celebrated her 20th wedding anniversary with Kobe and paid tribute to her relationship with the basketball legend through a series of poignant posts on social media.
The future of basketball legend's signature line of Mamba shoes now remains unclear.
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