The longest river

Chapter 41: Using this to test high school students?
In a café outside the stadium, Vaccaro, Yang Shuai, and Fraser had a face-to-face meeting.

Vaccaro hopes to finalize the signing with Yang Shuai as soon as possible, while Fraser said that the signing would have to wait until Yang Shuai had met with other brands.

Having been in the basketball world for many years, Vaccaro naturally knew what an agent did, and he turned his attention to Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai didn't mince words and directly stated his position: if the contract differences weren't significant, he would choose Adidas as his first choice.

With Yang Shuai's guarantee, Vaccaro was basically satisfied.

Yang Shuai is taking a lot of risks; he knows that other brands would find it difficult to make the same level of investment as Adidas.

After returning to Cleveland for a short rest, Yang Shuai then flew with Fraser to Dayton, Ohio.

There, people from Nike's branch office took them to participate in Nike's contract manufacturing production line.

Then, in the factory's conference room, the head of Nike's sales department used a PowerPoint presentation to introduce Nike's history and their successful strategies for selling sneakers.

They also plan to design a modern signature shoe for Yang Shuai within five years, and expect the shoe to quickly open up the Asian market, promising Yang Shuai a share of the profits.

After Yang Shuai was selected to the All-American First Team and won the John Wooden Award, Nike's attitude has clearly improved compared to before.

This also greatly changed Yang Shuai's opinion of Nike.

After all, the NBA is now Nike's league, and if he can join Nike, his development in the NBA will be much smoother.

However, this goodwill vanished after Nike offered a new endorsement deal.

Nike increased Yang Shuai's endorsement contract to 4 years and 250 million.

At this point, it's impossible for Nike employees not to know about Adidas's offer to Yang Shuai.

Clearly, they felt their brand value was enough to justify the huge difference in the contract.

This blatant disrespect angered Yang Shuai and Fraser.

Since Nike is so arrogant, there is no need for the two sides to continue communicating.

Two days later, a private plane landed in Cleveland, picked up Yang Shuai and Fraser, and headed to Canton, Massachusetts.

Having just experienced an unpleasant experience with Nike, Yang Shuai's goodwill towards Reebok has skyrocketed after receiving this level of treatment.

Upon arriving at Reebok headquarters, he was immediately taken to Reebok's research and development laboratory.

There, Yang Shuai saw many of Reebok's new technologies, including Reebok's most famous pump inflation technology.

Compared to PowerPoint presentations, this direct, visual approach allows Yang Shuai to understand more clearly why Reebok is developing so rapidly.

Right after the tour, Yang Shuai and Fraser were taken to a luxurious office.

There, Yang Shuai met Reebok's CEO, Paul Fellman.

He was a typical white elite, with simple clothes, a neat hairstyle, and a gentlemanly but slightly puffy face.

Fellman stood up and shook hands with Yang Shuai, expressing his respect and welcome for him.

Immediately afterwards, he handed an envelope that was on the table to Yang Shuai.

At his prompting, Yang Shuai opened the envelope with a puzzled look, only to find a check with his name on it inside. The amount on it made his breathing quicken.

$1000000!

Even counting his past life, Yang Shuai had never seen so much money.

Even his parents couldn't earn that much money in their entire lives.

This is different from what Vaccaro said in their chat about how much of a contract they would give you. Compared to those empty numbers, this check with his name already written on it is obviously more direct and has a greater visual impact.

He immediately thought of the Rondo family; he wouldn't have to wait until the draft to repay the family he had helped.

Just as Yang Shuai was still reeling from the shock of the check, Fellman's next words stunned him once again.

“We will provide you with a 5-year, 1000 million contract. As long as you sign now, you can take this check home directly.”

5 million in 1000 years!
Even Fraser, who was standing to the side, was somewhat shocked.

This is 200 million more than the contract offered by Adidas!
It's worth noting that Reebok had no prior connection with Yang Shuai, and Yang Shuai's draft prospects were still uncertain. This boldness, sincerity, and method were truly shocking.

“We need to discuss this.” But Fraser, being a man of the world, made the request to Fellman.

Fellman agreed and left the office with his men, leaving Yang Shuai and Fraser alone.

“If you sign this contract now, I won’t object, and I’ll help you negotiate with Adidas,” Fraser said.

Yang Shuai glanced at Fraser, then at the check in his hand, and finally swallowed hard.

Ultimately, he was just a high school student, and whether before or after the time travel, he could hardly resist such temptation.

But in the end, he still left the check.

“I promised Sonny.” Yang Shuai was tempted, but he had promised Vaccaro, and he didn’t want to be a person who broke his promise.

“From a business perspective, your decision is not wise, but I still support your decision.”

Fraser looked at Yang Shuai with admiration, and even felt an urge to applaud him.

If a high school student can ultimately resist such temptation, his future achievements are immeasurable.

When Fellman returned to his office and learned of Yang Shuai's decision, he was equally incredulous. In his view, Yang Shuai had no reason to refuse such a offer.

However, he was not angry about this, because it did not mean that the possibility of cooperation between the two sides was completely gone.

Yang Shuai will make a final decision after meeting with Adidas.

Before leaving Reebok's headquarters, Fraser called Vaccaro and relayed Reebok's offer to him.

Yang Shuai's attitude remains the same as before: if Adidas can offer the same or similar price, it will still be Yang Shuai's first choice.

"I need some time."

With the contract suddenly increasing by 200 million, Vaccaro couldn't make a decision immediately.

Just as he had mentioned when he met with Yang Shuai, Adidas's US branch is essentially just a sales department. Their funding comes from the German headquarters, and contracts also require final approval from there.

There are potential risks involved. If Vaccaro fails to reach a contract and Reebok withdraws its offer, Yang Shuai could suffer a financial loss of at least 200 million.

However, Yang Shuai chose to wait.

Of course, Yang Shuai wasn't just waiting idly.

The NBA regular season is still ongoing and the draft lottery hasn't even started yet, so teams won't be arranging workouts at this time.

The trial training will basically have to wait until May, which is almost a month away.

Fraser found Yang Shuai a professional trainer and began to train him in specific skills to prepare him for the upcoming trial.

Although the content of each team's tryouts varies, there is generally a set process. Just like taking an exam, familiarizing yourself with the exam process and conducting specialized training can greatly improve your pass rate.

Two weeks later, Fraser received a call from Vaccaro.

Vaccaro has successfully persuaded the German headquarters to raise the offer to the same $1000 million over 5 years as Reebok.

This was the best outcome for Yang Shuai. Reebok successfully helped him increase his contract offer, and he ultimately signed with Adidas.

However, just after Yang Shuai made his decision, Reebok somehow found out about Adidas's new offer and added a bonus of 100 million yuan to the original contract.

As long as Yang Shuai meets some specific, not-too-difficult conditions, such as being selected for the All-Rookie Team, the total value of his shoe contract will reach 1100 million over 5 years!
Reebok continues to demonstrate their sincerity, but Yang Shuai is prepared to deliver on his promise.

Two days later, Yang Shuai and Fraser traveled to the headquarters of Adidas's US branch in Portland, Oregon.

In the headquarters office, Yang Shuai met Vaccaro, who was the most formally dressed Vaccaro he had ever seen.

This casual Italian mafia member not only wore a suit and tie, but also had his hair slicked back, making him look exceptionally formal.

However, this is entirely reasonable.

Because he sees Yang Shuai as his Michael Jordan at Adidas, and he can also get revenge on Nike and the NCAA all at once.

It's no exaggeration to say that, just like when he bet on Jordan, he's gambling his entire career as a professional manager.

Just as Yang Shuai sensed, he was a super gambler who frequented Las Vegas for many years.

The meeting between the two sides went very well.

Vaccaro even mentioned in the conversation that he would try to create a signature shoe for Yang Shuai, and that he thought Yang Shuai's name was very good, and that the "handsome" series would definitely be a hit.

This pleasant atmosphere continued until Vaccaro's assistant brought out the contract from the side.

Fraser was the first to read the contract, and he was stunned.

He then handed the contract to Yang Shuai, who also fell silent.

This contract is vastly different from what Vaccaro described.

It is indeed a contract totaling $1000 million, but less than $600 million of it is guaranteed. The rest consists of relatively hard-earned bonuses, such as becoming Rookie of the Year, being selected for the NBA All-Star Game within three years, and even the contract specifies the number of appearances required each season.

Yang Shuai felt like he had been tricked.

For a moment, he felt that Johnson's reminder was so timely. If he had signed with Treller as his agent, he would be a helpless fish on the chopping block right now.

He then looked at Vaccaro, his eyes filled with anger and confusion.

Vaccaro also sensed that something was wrong, so he took the contract from Yang Shuai and started looking at it.

Then, his expression changed.

He looked at his assistant, puzzled: "What's going on?"

His reaction raised doubts for Yang Shuai and Fraser, as it sounded as if the contract had been switched.

“This is a new contract that just arrived from headquarters today.” The assistant’s explanation made Vakaro’s face darken immediately.

He apologized to Yang Shuai and Fraser, then gestured that he needed to go out to make a phone call.

About fifteen minutes later, Vaccaro returned to his office with mixed feelings.

His expression was a mix of emotions: confusion, anger, and shame.

"Those fools will definitely regret their decisions today!"

Vaccaro finally said those words through gritted teeth, knowing that all his previous efforts would be in vain.

(End of this chapter)