<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> His Nike deal expires in June and Chinese sports and apparel company Li-Ning is expected to make Bryant a lucrative offer to position him as the top American athlete in China. Bryant's bargaining position for his next shoe deal will certainly be helped with the news that he's got the top selling jersey in China. For companies like Nike, Li-Ning or others who are trying to reach the 1.5 billion Chinese consumers, Kobe's appeal will be very attractive and likely translate in to a big deal for him. While Li-Ning is expected to offer Bryant a lucrative deal, don't be surprised to see Nike top it. Bryant has really undergone a marketing rebirth in the past year or so and its very important to the people in Beaverton, Oregon to reach the Chinese consumers. Don't underestimate another huge factor - my Nike sources tell me they made a mistake by letting Yao Ming, who was a Nike athlete for years, get away to Reebok when his deal expired a few years ago. Nike put a lot of money in to LeBron James at the time and they didn't renew Yao. I would bet that the Nike people who let Yao walk, will think long and hard about letting Kobe leave for a more lucrative deal.</div> Cha-Ching Ching!
Well deserved, I can't think of anyone I'd rather cast as a featured role model/spokesperson than Kobe Bryant.
