Kevin Durant Shoes: Will KD Leave Nike for Under Armour?

With his Nike endorsement ending soon, the whole sporting world is anticipating on what brand NBA star Kevin Durant will endorse next. Will it be Under Armour or other suitors waiting for his sweet YES.

ESPN earlier reported that one of the strongest brand contenders is Under Armour, and it is offering an estimated $265 to $285 million in a span of 10 years. Nike reportedly has to match the proposal if they want to keep the player with them.

If Durant signs with Under Armour, ESPN said that this would be the biggest sponsorship deal that the brand would be committing to.

The said brand, which is just running a small basketball business, would need to give Durant the assurance of the money they are offering.

The deal of the amount, which is about triple than what he is receiving from Nike, is indeed a huge amount but Upstart Business Journal said that negotiations with Durant's head agent, Jay-Z, are still ongoing. There is still the huge possibility that the basketball player will remain with Nike.

NYU sports management professor Dave Hollander told Upstart Business Journal that the "pivotal players" in these types of situations are not the athletic brands but the artist agency and an athlete's sports management company, and for Durant's case, it's Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports.

"It's almost less about Under Armour putting the pressure on Nike than CAA putting the pressure on Nike. They're saying 'Nike you've got 99 percent of the basketball sneaker market, you've been dictating terms for a long term. They have just made a game-changer deal in the sneaker business," Hollander added.

In a similar report, Sole Collector said that Durant has expressed his intention to join Nike even before playing his first NBA game. But now it seems like he and his managing team is changing their minds about that and trying to model other brands like Under Armour and even Adidas.

It added that Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank is excited for Durant to complete two major things for the brand and that is to grow its small shoe business and to make its presence felt worldwide.

As for updates on the deal, it was noted that Durant went to the Under Armour headquarters last Aug. 13 and stayed there for one whole day.

During the visit, it was reported that brand executives showed the player a $4.5-million worth of stock that it gave to NFL owners last 2006.

Speculations of Durant's transfer to another sports brand started when he opted to not participate in the national team which, according to Sole Collector, is hugely sponsored by Nike. But the player denied these rumors saying that he only needed to rest and prepare for the next NBA season.

But as for now these things remain speculations and rumors as Durant and Roc Nation Sports have not yet decided which brand they will be wearing in the coming years.