Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 256 Full of Sincerity
Hey, the door of the conference room at the Marriott Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles was pushed open, but the sound of footsteps was absorbed by the burgundy carpet and no sound could be heard at all.

A gentleman was coming towards me. Although it was still midsummer in Los Angeles in September, he was still wearing a well-ironed suit, a complete three-piece suit. His bald hair, which didn't have much hair left, was still neatly groomed. These details showed his seriousness.

As soon as he appeared on the stage, the gentleman looked past Donald, looked at Levi with sincere and enthusiastic eyes, and opened the situation with a little humor.

Levi didn't react immediately. He turned his head and looked in the direction the gentleman was looking. Only then did he see the billboard erected on the tall building of Century City behind him.

"Los Angeles Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs".

But the point is, this is supposed to be a promotional poster for a match between the two teams, but there are no Los Angeles Lightning players to be seen, only Levi.

If you think about it, this isn't surprising.

The Los Angeles Lightning just moved back this season and have almost no fan base in the city, so they might as well promote the new face of the league.

To be honest, Levi was still a little uncomfortable with it. Suddenly, he saw his face appear on the billboard, and that face became unfamiliar.

Tilting his head slightly, Levi looked at the gentleman again and said jokingly, "The photo editing must have involved a lot of tinkering. Are you sure that person is me?"

The gentleman laughed heartily and stretched out his right hand. "That's why I said that the real person is more handsome. Trevor-Edwards."

Donald became a supporting role.

But Donald didn't mind. Edwards in front of him was Nike's current executive vice president of brand marketing and was undoubtedly a member of the top management of the pyramid. His willingness to come to Los Angeles in person to negotiate had already shown enough sincerity; and his actions at this time further proved this point.

Generally speaking, when facing young rookie players, these experienced veterans know that these are kids who have never seen the world, and they can be intimidated by just throwing some numbers at them, so the agents are the ones who really hold the power of negotiation.

Dealing with the agent means dealing with the rookie.

If the agent happens to be a big shot in the industry, the rookie will have no say in front of the agent and will often just nod his head obediently.

But Edwards did not do so.

Although Donald was in charge of the negotiations, Edwards knew that the final decision was in Levi's hands, and he showed absolute respect from the first meeting.

From the details, it can be seen that Nike should have studied Levi carefully.

Edwards seemed confident and in complete control of the conversation.

"People often think that professional players should speak with their performance on the field. Of course, this is true. Competitive sports don't pay attention to losers. But from the perspective of the commercial market, performance is not the only criterion."

"Otherwise, David Beckham would not have become the highest-earning football player in the past 20 years, and he doesn't even have a Ballon d'Or."

Beckham: Arrow to the knee.

Li Wei spread his hands, "People often think that David is a vase with only good looks but no ability. I'm not sure whether this is David's success or failure."

Beckham: Another arrow in the knee.

Edwards laughed cheerfully, "So, are you happy or sad that the media hasn't discussed your appearance yet?"

Levi shrugged lightly. "Oh, as for me, there are too many places they want to attack. The vase should not be ranked. The attack power is too weak. I guess I am luckier than David?"

Is this... self-mockery?
There was a hint of admiration in Edwards' eyes - appearance is very important, very, very important.

To give a simple and intuitive example, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are now the rivals in professional football, evenly matched and fighting fiercely, but why does Cristiano Ronaldo's income exceed Messi's?
Appearance is an important reason.

It’s not that Messi has a bad appearance, but relatively speaking, C-Ronaldo knows more about packaging, management and promotion, and appearance does play an important role.

But appearance alone is not enough. There shouldn't be too many pretty faces in basketball and football. What really attracts fans and even makes them stand out is their personal charm.

Now, Edwards saw in Levi a unique temperament that did not match his age, even better than what he saw at the press conference.

It's hard to believe, but Edwards believes that the media has not forced Levi to use his full strength, and Levi is completely at ease.

After taking a closer look, Edwards exclaimed in admiration.

"You know what? I see the shadow of Swiss king Roger Federer in you."

The king of tennis?
Like Jordan, Federer also joined forces with Nike to build a business empire.

Although Levi traveled back from 2023 and his foresight advantage was very limited, he knew one thing at least: in the first round of Wimbledon in 2018, Federer, who had worn Nike for fifteen years, appeared on the court in a low-key Uniqlo jersey, announcing the most sensational and shocking breakup in professional tennis in such an understated way.

Many years later, Nike's CEO frankly admitted that it was a wrong decision and that they should have kept Federer and kept the Federer brand within Nike.

So, what now?
With so little time left until next June, have Federer and Nike started negotiations? Or has Nike already made a decision on Federer's future?

A hypothesis is that if Nike has decided not to renew Federer's contract, one of the main reasons is that they believe Federer's body can no longer hold on and he will retire soon, so it is not worth continuing to renew the contract at a high price. They must look further ahead, especially at young people.

So, does this future young market include Levi?

Levi was a little surprised that Edwards actually mentioned Federer.

He looked over and said, "Oh, my pleasure. Does this mean I can get the same contract as Federer?"

Obviously, this is a joke.

Edwards figured it out immediately and couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Let's put it this way. We are looking forward to discovering the next Federer."

Donald spoke up appropriately, "Or the first Levi on the football field."

Ambition begins to show.

Federer is to tennis what Jordan is to basketball.

Before them, their respective sports had already entered the commercialization model and produced a series of superstars; but their appearance was the real turning point. The sports project became a highly commercialized project, which really opened up a new situation for the commercial endorsement contracts of other players.

A new world.

Therefore, the weight of Donald's words is self-evident.

Edwards looked Donald in the eye for the first time.

It seems that Nike still underestimated Donald's ambition, and also underestimated Donald's preparation for this meeting. Is Donald really prepared to use Levi as a turning point to push football into the era of personal superstars?
is it possible?
(End of this chapter)