Marketer Sonny Vaccaro says Victor Wembanyama could get 'blank check' shoe deal

Vaccaro said that Wembanyama will be able to set his own price for the deal, but if he were advising Wembanyama, he'd tell him, "Make sure my people get a piece of my shoe. And the next thing I would do, I would want a clothing line. I would want the t-shirt. I would want the sweatsuits. I would want the hats. And I would want them right now...He's in the driver's seat!"

The 18-year-old Wembanyama, who stands 7-foot-3 in bare feet, is a center currently playing for the French professional team Metropolitans 92. He's widely assumed to be the No. 1 pick in next summer's NBA Draft. This week, Wembanyama starred against the prospect-laden G League Ignite team, including presumptive No. 2 pick Scoot Henderson, averaging 36.5 points and 4.5 blocks in the two games.

"This other kid Henderson, he's pretty good. They're all pretty good," said Vaccaro. "And they may be better! But they're not better today. They're not better when they're going to pay the paycheck. That's when you want to be better." He also called Wembanyama "ten years ahead of everyone else" when it came to his literacy and his comfort level talking to the press.

Michael Jordan was the first truly big-money shoe endorser in the NBA, signing with Nike for five years and $2.5 million back in 1984, plus stock options. MJ also received a five percent royalty on every Air Jordan sold, which became a gigantic boon when Nike sold $126 million worth of Air Jordans in Jordan's very first season - that was an extra $6.3 million, on top of his 500K per year. Since then, it's been very rare for an athlete to get a percentage of his shoe sales - but Vaccaro said Wembanyama should be thinking about "being part of the business" - and he might have the leverage to demand it.

LeBron James inked a $90 million contract with Nike before his rookie season in 2003, a seven-year commitment. Vaccaro claims that Adidas was prepared to offer him $100 million, but low-balled James at the last moment, while James turned down $100 million with a $10 million signing bonus from Reebok.  

Zion Williamson signed the largest annual value shoe deal ever for an NBA rookie back in 2019, before he played a single game. The deal with Nike's Jordan Brand was worth $75 million for five years, which is only slightly less than Williamson's NBA salary for that stretch ($77.77 million). And that's even after a pair of Nikes collapsed while he was wearing them during a college game.

So expect a bidding war for Wembanyama's endorsement next summer. And if Vaccaro is right, expect Victor Wembanyama T-shirts, sweatsuits, and hats immediately to follow.