In a recent interview with Sole Collector, Octagon agent Alex Saratsis broke down how NBA sneaker contracts work. The overarching theme from the interview is that the lucrative footwear contracts rest with only the top dozen players in the league that “can move product.” Outside of the elite players, the contract values drop dramatically to mid-low 5 figures and even less for the bench players.
You can read the full interview on Sole Collector but here is one interesting quote into the thought process of the shoe companies, “The biggest misnomer is that everyone is getting a lot of money and everyone is getting paid,” Octagon agent Alex Saratsis tells Sole Collector. “Now, these shoe companies are very methodical in whom they go after. If they can add an extra million to KD’s compensation or LeBron’s comp over adding a bunch of guys that won’t push product, they will. Very few guys are getting paid good money to endorse shoes.”
Saratsis is an experienced NBA agent that represents a number of notable players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Seth Curry, and Dennis Schroder. Saratsis is a Senior Director at Octagon and operates out of Chicago.