Jordan Brand Presented a Signature Sneaker to Allen Iverson
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The strong relationship between NBA legends Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson is well-documented. Jordan has always acted as a big bro to Iverson throughout their friendship, which has spanned almost three decades.
Today, we learned their friendship almost included a major business deal that would have rewritten sneaker history. After going first in the 1996 NBA Draft, Iverson took pitch meetings from all of the major sneaker companies. One of those meetings was with Nike and included the presentation of a signature sneaker with Jordan Brand.
In a recent episode of Sneaker Shopping, Iverson confirmed the rumors that he would have been the first signature athlete signed to Jordan Brand in 1996. The nascent sublabel of Nike even showed Iverson a prototype of the "Bubba Chuck" basketball shoe.
Unfortunately, pictures of the unreleased basketball shoe do not exist. However, it was described as a mix of Jason Kidd's Nike Air Zoom Flight 95 and the Air Jordan 11 - oh, what could have been.
Iverson expressed confidence in his decision to sign with Reebok, as the two partners created a strong signature sneaker catalog that still cranks out new colorways to this day. Fans wanting to shop Iverson's retro signature sneakers can choose between several styles on the Reebok website.
From a financial perspective, there is no denying Iverson made the correct decision. Iverson signed a ten-year, $50 million contract before his rookie season. Five years later, he signed a lifetime contract that included $800,000 per year for the rest of his life in addition to gaining access to a $32 million trust fund on his 55th birthday.
From a legacy standpoint, Iverson followed in the footsteps of Shaquille O'Neal. Fast forward to 2023, and O'Neal was named the President of Reebok Basketball and selected Iverson as his Vice President. Stay locked into FanNationKicks.com for all your footwear news from the sports world.
