NBA star Tracy McGrady (20 PPG, 6 RPG, 4 APG, career) announced his retirement from basketball. McGrady, 34, was the of the best players of his time, with seven consecutive All-Star appearances (2001-2007), eight consecutive years on the first, second, and third All-NBA teams, and well within the top 100 of all time is virtually every NBA offensive statistic.
McGrady was a member of the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs last season. While he was still a competent professional basketball player, his skill had clearly diminished to a small fraction of what they were in his prime. T-Mac made the tough, but, I believe, appropriate choice to walk away from the game.
This is in stark contrast to future Hall of Fame point guard Allen Iverson, who also recently announced his retirement. The 38-year-old Iverson has not played a minute in the NBA in three years, but held out hope of a comeback, playing overseas in the interim.
Today's retweet is from comedian Frank Caliendo (@FrankCaliendo):
"Tracy McGrady is announcing his retirement 3 years too early." - Allen Iverson
Inverson was rocking "the Iversons" in China earlier this year.
Someone, somewhere must be reading and enjoying this fine piece of the blogging zeitgeist that I keep delivering for your enjoyment. Once again, we have had a guest contributor submit an article for the Hat Trick. And once again, I am honored and humbled to share it with you.
Anna Miller of onlinedegree.net submitted the following article, which was originally run on her website, about big time endorsement deals in sports. I'd like to extend a special thank you to Anna. Enjoy, Hat Trick readers!
Professional athletes can make millions in no time, but in order to secure this kind of hefty income they will often shoot for the biggest and best endorsement deals out there. Big name athletes are usually the first to get signed to endorsement contracts, but every once in a while a big brand will take a chance on a rookie or lesser-known player and strike gold. Here are the 10 biggest endorsement deals in athletic history:
Tiger Woods is by far the most endorsed and highest paid athlete in sports history. Although Woods has lost some major endorsement contracts since his 2009 scandal, he still managed to earn an estimated $70 million in endorsements in 2010. One of the biggest names to stick by Tiger is Nike, who in 2000 offered the gold superstar a five-year, $100-million endorsement deal. At the time, this was the largest deal ever offered to an active athlete.
Before Michael Jordan reached the big leagues, Nike offered the rookie $500,000 and his own shoe line if he signed with them. This was one of the biggest and riskiest endorsement deals to ever happen to sports, especially since Jordan hadn't played in the NBA yet and was leaning towards signing with Adidas. Jordan took Nike up on the deal and created the ever-so popular Nike Air Jordans.
David Beckham agreed to one of the biggest endorsement deals in athletic history when he teamed up with Adidas for $160.8 million in 2003. This massive lifetime contract came about because Adidas feared Beckham would be persuaded to switch to their rival brand, Nike. Out of all of Adidas' clients, Beckham is the top-selling endorser.
In 2001, Allen Iverson signed with the Sixers and signed a lifetime endorsement and marketing contract with Reebok for $50 million. Although the terms of the deal weren't disclosed, we do know that the contract will extend beyond his career as a player. Iverson's signature shoe "The Answer" was very successful and helped resurge Reebok's place in basketball.
In 2010, basketball megastar LeBron James signed a sever-year basketball shoe endorsement deal with Nike worth $90 million. This contract was particularly huge because LeBron hadn't played a minute in the NBA when Nike signed him. According to the Associated Press, the Nike deal includes a shoe and apparel line for James, which he has an artistic say-so in.
In September 2008, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo signed a five-year, $10-million endorsement deal with apparel brand, Starter. The footwear and apparel contract is believed to be the biggest endorsement deal in NFL history. Despite his endorsement deal, Romo does not wear Starter footwear during games because the company does not have a contract with the NFL.
The former heavyweight boxing champ George Foreman reached new levels of success with his popular "Lean Mean Grilling Machine," but scored an even bigger deal by selling his name to grill maker Salton, Inc. in 1999. The company agreed to pay Foreman $137.5 million in cash and stock in exchange for using his name and image to sell food-preparation products.
Anna Kournikova is a highly sponsored tennis player with a wide array of endorsement deals with big name brands like Omega watches, Internet search engine Lycos and Berlei lingerie. One of her biggest and tennis' richest deals was signing a six-year contract with Adidas worth $50 million. The catch was that in order to receive all of the $50 million, Kournikova would have to succeed on the tennis court. Since this didn't come easy to the blonde beauty, she took home the guaranteed $3 million.
Sidney Crosby is one of the most endorsed hockey players in the league. In May 2010, Crosby signed an endorsement deal with Reebok worth $1.4 million a year for five to seven years. This is the richest contract the NHL has ever seen. When Crosby first entered the NHL as a 17-year-old superstar, he had a five-year, $2.5-million deal with Reebok, in addition to several other big name brands.
Venus Williams struck gold in 2000 when she signed a five-year, $40-million endorsement contract with Reebok. The endorsement came after Williams won both the Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. In 2003, Reebok decided not to renew their contract with Williams because of her inconsistent play throughout the years. However, the company still pays Williams to wear Reebok, even though she is not contracted to do so.
With this week being the first of 2011, you have probably been inundated with notable events an occurrences from 2010. Have no fear. The inundation will continue! Today, The Daily Hat Trick looks back some of the most noteworthy men in sports uniforms that said goodbye to the games they have contributed to over the years.
Major League Baseball
Ken Griffey, Jr. - "Last name 'Ever'...first name 'Greatest'."Junior was the greatest centerfielder of his time. Over the 22 year stretch of his career, I cannot think of anyone who was close. Other than Willie Mays, I think he is the greatest centerfielder of all-time and other than Barry Bonds (ignoring the big, muscled up elephant in the room) the greatest player of his time.
I could spend all day throwing out batting averages, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases, gold gloves, etcetera. Simply consider how many games Junior missed due to injury. Take his numbers, which already blow away all but a handful of men ever to play the game, and extrapolate them over just half of the games he missed and add those numbers to his career totals. What always made me stare in awe at Griffey, Jr.'s resume is that one can reasonably say that Griffey DID NOT REACH HIS POTENTIAL due to injuries!!!
Of course, like many all-time greats, Griffey stayed in the game a little longer than he should have. Griffey stopped being the premier power threat he had been in 2008 and his 2010 campaign ended in a somewhat embarrassing fashion. He retired, mid-season, very shortly after a story broke that the 40 year old Griffey fell asleep in the Seattle Mariners clubhouse during a game and missed a pinch-hitting appearance when called upon. Come on! The old man needed his rest!
Still, Griffey is one of my all time personal favorite athletes and I know that I am not alone. The baseball world got a little colder this past summer.
Gee, Barry. You're looking good! A little too good.... 1
Lou Pinella - Sweet Lou, former World Series winning manager of the 1990 Cincinnati Reds and manager of the Chicago Cubs last season, announced that the 2010 campaign would be his last early in the year. However, due to family commitments (and a Cubs season going down in a ball of flames like a Kamikaze pilot), Pinella had to ramp his retirement up and leave the game in August.
In a touching moment, Pinella wept after his final game as a manager, an 11 run thrashing at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, as he said it hit him that it would be the last time he would wear his uniform. There are times when a grown man can cry, without question of one's masculinity, and that moment was one of those times. But I could not help but wonder if the opportunity to get a "man pass" for tearing up was as good a time as any for Pinella to let out the waterworks in response to that day's game or the Cubs season as a whole.
Bobby Cox - Bobby Cox, manager of the Atlanta Braves for a total of 25 seasons and leader of the most dominant National League ballclub in a generation, finally hung it up after this past season. Cox is yet another example of someone who achieved amazing accomplishments, yet did not live up to his full potential.
In spite of 14 consecutiveNational League East Division Championships (1991-1993, 1995-2005, no 1994 post-season - strike), and five National League Pennants ('91, '92, '95, '96, '99), the Braves only won one World Series, in 1995 over the Cleveland Indians. Cox's final game was a loss in game 4 of the 2010 National League Divisional Series against the eventual World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. It was not a storybook ending, but it was fitting that Cox was able to leave the game in the postseason (after a four year absence), in which Cox had the most memorable moments of his managerial career.
National Basketball Association
Allen Iverson - Allen "The Answer" Inverson was one of the quickest, most explosive and exciting young star players in the NBA when he was drafted out of Georgetown in 1996. He is also the only player that I have ever seen break Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan's ankles. Iverson ended his career ranked sixth in career points per game (minimum of 10,000 points scored) 2 and was the MVP of the league in 2001. He also led the 76ers to an Eastern Conference Championship in 2001, losing the NBA Finals to the Lakers in 5 games.
As great as Iverson was on the court, he will also be remembered for being outspoken, leading some to question whether he needed an attitude adjustment. Men lie; women lie; numbers don't. Throughout most of A.I.'s career, he talked the talk while he walked the walk. Just do not ask Ivvy about "practice".
"PRACTICE???" I am sure that Allen Iverson could find some empathy from Jim Mora ("PLAYOFFS?!?) 3
Rasheed Wallace - Rasheed Wallace had a standout career in the NBA. He was a lengthy forward who could do it all - shoot, post up, rebound, block shots, play defense, and he could dish the ball pretty well for a big fella, when called upon. He was also a walking technical foul. Many an office pool could have been taken on not if, but in which quarter would Sheed get tee'd up. If he racked up two in a quarter, should you get a double payout?
The NFL named its championship trophy after Vince Lombardi, one of its greatest coaches. Should the "tech" be renamed to a "Sheed"? 4
National Football League
Kurt Warner - Have there been many more inspirational careers that concluded in the last 10 years than that of Kurt Warner? The story has been told dozens of times, but it never gets old. Warner went from bagging groceries to playing in the Arena Football League to becoming an unheard of backup with the St. Louis Rams, to a Super Bowl MVP, eventual two-time league MVP, three time Super Bowl starting quarterback, and (in my opinion) future Pro Football Hall of Famer.
How did he throw with that glove on his hand? 5
Being a Saints fan, I absolutely loathed The Greatest Show on Turf in St. Louis. That did not stop me from dropping my jaw, at times, in amazement, though. I found Warner's perseverance through adversity to be as inspiring as his rags-to-riches rise. Warner was released by the Rams in favor of Marc Bulger following the 2003 season, only to be benched (in spite of leading his team to a winning record) by the New York Giants for Eli Manning in 2004. Warner landed with the Arizona Cardinals, thought to be a graveyard destination. What happened? The Cardinals were two minutes away from winning Super Bowl XLIII.
Junior Seau - A lot of people may have assumed that Seau had been long retired in 2010. Seau did fade into relative anonymity, spending 2008 and 2009 as a reserve with the New England Patriots, playing until age 40. However there is no denying the ferocity and dominance with with Seau played the middle linebacker position during his 20 seasons in the National Football League (1990-2009). A 12 time Pro Bowler, six time All-Pro, and two time Super Bowl participant, Seau should be a slam dunk for the Hall of Fame when he is eligible in 2015.
Photo from 2010 crash in which Junior Seau drove his car off of a cliff.
I hope that Seau approaches improving his skills behind the wheel as much as he sharpened his skills on the gridiron. 6
Isaac Bruce - Bruce was a quiet assassin at wide receiver. In a draft class (1996) that included a couple of the best known "diva" receivers (though some of the best receiving talent) in the history of the National Football League (Keyshawn Johnson, Terrell Owens, Joey Galloway, Mushin Muhammad, Marvin Harrison, among others), Bruce did his talking on the field. A member of "The Greatest Show on Turf" Rams teams of the late 90s and early 2000s, Bruce is currently ranked in the top 10 for career receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
Jeff Feagles - Can anyone name the record holder in the NFL for consecutive games played. Here is a hint: he is not known for "Dillo huntin'" or overestimating the aesthetic appeal of his private parts. Feagles record 352 consecutive games played may never be broken. During his 22 years in the NFL, he was known as one of the best coffin corner punters in the league. Regardless of the average fan's awareness of or attention paid to NFL punters, defenses and coaches appreciate the luxury of having a cushion of 95 yards, as opposed to 80 or 70, between the line of scrimmage and their own end zone.
Jason Elam - Elam is the only kicker to match Tom Dempsey's, 40 year old, record 63 yard field goal. He played in the NFL for 17 years, winning two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos. He was one of the most accurate kickers of his time. as I have stated before, a reliable kicker may be the most underrated asset on any football team.
1) Image from http://cheapseatsplease.files.wordpress.com 2) Source: basketball-reference.com 3) Source: You Tube 4) Image from hardwoodhoudini.com 5) Image from vikingsgab.com
