Chapter 982: Another Endorsent Deal
New York, the world’s number one city.
In the mid-17th century, after the Anglo-Dutch War ended, the Netherlands was defeated and forced to cede New Amsterdam on the East Coast of North Arica to Britain. At that ti, it happened to be the birthday of Charles II’s brother, the Duke of York, so the king changed the na of New Amsterdam to New York as a birthday present for the Duke of York. That’s how we have the New York of today.
In the early 20th century, Europe was swept by a craze to explore Arica, and other parts of North Arica also ca to the most prosperous port on the East Coast to look for new business opportunities. For immigrants, New York was a new world, so it was also nicknad the "Big Apple," which ans "good-looking and delicious, everyone wants a bite."
Today, New York has beco one of the most important and prosperous cities in the world. Its status is irreplaceable even on a global scale.
In this city, the hustle and bustle of people and traffic are non-stop all year round. The towering steel forest divides the city into a neat grid. Only in the area near the Statue of Liberty can you still see the ssy, long and short streets of Europe, revealing the city’s past.
The raging winds at the mouth of the sea roar and pass through the towering buildings. The sparse golden sunlight seems unable to penetrate the tight blockade, listlessly casting on the gray road. The howling wind roars at any ti of the year, adding a touch of desolation to this cold and distant corner. The endless stream of people always instinctively pulls their coats together, creating a barrier between themselves and strangers.
Just by looking through the car window at the busy figures on the street, you can deeply feel the difference between the East Coast and the West Coast. This is not Los Angeles, nor is it San Francisco, but New York. Even for an immigrant like Lu Ke, he could deeply feel the "East-West rivalry" of the United States.
This was the second ti Lu Ke had visited New York this year.
The last ti was in Week 4 of this season for the ga against the New York Jets, but because the tLife Stadium was not in New York City but in New Jersey, they didn’t have a chance to go into the city and take a good look around.
This ti seed to be the sa. He could only glimpse the city from the four-door sedan that ca to pick him up. Then, he quickly disappeared into one of the countless skyscrapers, as if he had been swallowed by the city.
Caught off guard, Lu Ke didn’t even have ti to take a good look at the exterior of the building. The car had already driven directly into the underground parking lot. All the scenery in his sight turned into a cold, gray concrete wall. It wasn’t until he took the elevator to his destination that he realized it was a hotel.
Thinking back, he seed to have caught a glimpse of the words "Hilton Hotel" at the entrance of the parking lot. However, because he was not expecting the car to turn suddenly, Lu Ke didn’t get a good look, so he couldn’t be 100% sure.
He pushed open the door of the hotel room and saw Leigh Steinberg sitting at the desk.
At this ti, Leigh was enjoying a leisurely afternoon tea. The aroma of tea filled the air. There was also a Black Forest cake and a cup of milk on the coffee table. He was holding a copy of "The Birthday Party" by Nobel Prize in Literature winner Harold Pinter and was reading it seriously. His leisure and comfort were in stark contrast to Lu Ke’s rush and haste.
Lu Ke imdiately realized that things were not too urgent, at least not at the mont. So, Lu Ke sat down opposite Leigh, let out a long breath, and pointed at the milk on the table. "Can I drink this?" He wasn’t asking for permission, but asking if it contained any banned substances. Professional athletes had to be careful at all tis.
As expected, Leigh imdiately understood and shook his head. "It’s from the hotel. It might not be reliable. You’d better drink bottled water."
Then he gestured to Vincent, who had followed him in. Leigh put down his book and folded his hands on his knees. "I’m sorry I couldn’t watch this ga at Gillette Stadium in person. Honestly, I regret it. It was such a wonderful ga, and I couldn’t watch it live. I love seeing the panic on Bill’s face the most."
Bill? Bill Belichick? He didn’t expect them to be friends! But... that didn’t seem strange either.
"I thought you were trying to avoid suspicion," Lu Ke said jokingly.
Leigh was slightly stunned, and then he reacted. "You know?"
Recently, there had been so unreliable rumors in the league that since Brady was now in the second half of his career, Belichick had been struggling to find a successor for Brady.
The reason why the news was said to be unreliable was not because of the news itself—the New England Patriots had indeed been looking for a suitable young backup quarterback, just like when Aaron Rodgers took over from Brett Favre, to prepare for the void after Brady’s performance declined. After all, Brady was already 35 this year.
It was because those who truly understood Belichick knew that he didn’t believe in quarterbacks with outstanding individual abilities. He was more inclined to a quarterback who fit his tactical system. Since Brady, the Patriots had never selected a quarterback before the sixth round. Lu Ke was obviously not suitable for Belichick’s tactical system.
Such news was completely baseless. Instead of a real rumor, it was more likely that soone was deliberately trying to praise Lu Ke to set him up for failure and to ss with the San Francisco 49ers’ morale. In any case, Lu Ke’s contract renewal next offseason would be a focal point of attention, and they could already see that competitors were starting to cause trouble.
The reason Leigh didn’t tell Lu Ke was that he didn’t take it seriously at all. He had already started to deal with it. He didn’t expect the news to leak out among the players.
"He can’t afford the contract I want," Leigh said in an understatent, which revealed his strong confidence. What he was looking for was a top contract that would break historical records, not a backup position.
Lu Ke laughed.
Leigh didn’t say any more nonsense and got straight to the point. "The reason I ca to New York today is because soone here needed to watch the ga with them."
Before Lu Ke could think about it, Leigh imdiately dropped a bombshell. "The new sponsor has basically been finalized. We had a small party, and they also wanted to watch your ga in person to see your performance. A bunch of cunning old foxes, they specifically chose this ga."
The ga against the New England Patriots was an absolute test for Lu Ke. Even an outsider knew how difficult Belichick and the New England Patriots were to deal with, and the important matchup between Lu Ke and Brady was a focus that the league was hyping up. So, the sponsors specifically chose this ga.
It was a final test.
But for Lu Ke, the more surprising part was: there was another sponsor? The Rolex endorsent deal was only two months ago.
But Leigh said it so casually, as if it was no big deal. Lu Ke’s surprise didn’t co in a huge wave. "What if we had lost this ga?" he asked curiously.
Leigh shrugged lightly. "It’s not a big problem. How can an athlete never lose a ga? What they wanted to see was your style of play, especially your attitude in a difficult situation. Of course, it would have been even better if you had won."
From the process and outco of the ga, Lu Ke’s performance was truly eye-catching. Even before today, there were countless rumors about Lu Ke in and out of the league, which greatly increased the expectations, but the reality was even better than the expectations.
For Leigh, Lu Ke’s ga deanor was an everyday occurrence, but for the sponsors, it was still a rare and important bonus point.
What Leigh didn’t say was that before this ga, the contract negotiations had actually been basically finalized. Neither side had more room to advance or retreat. All that was left was to nod in agreent. The sponsor still hadn’t budged.
But after the ga ended, they verbally agreed at the party. In less than two hours, the lawyers from both sides reviewed the contract details, and now all that was left was Lu Ke’s signature.
Obviously, this ga really satisfied the other party.
This was also the reason for Leigh’s good mood. Looking back now, choosing Lu Ke back then was indeed a testant to his great foresight. Leigh intentionally didn’t tell Lu Ke these details, not because he was worried that Lu Ke couldn’t handle the pressure and would perform poorly, but because Lu Ke’s full attention was on the ga, and Leigh would handle the off-field matters as much as possible, so Lu Ke wouldn’t be distracted.
After casually glossing over the matter, Leigh continued, "The contract has basically been finalized now. All that’s left is for you to officially sign it. That’s it. Tomorrow, you’ll need to make ti to shoot a short comrcial. They need to do post-production and editing to see if it can be aired during the Super Bowl."
One bombshell after another was dropped.
A 30-second Super Bowl comrcial slot costs four million dollars. In the entire world, it is still the top of the top, and no one can compete. What’s even more exaggerated is that despite being so expensive, it is still in high demand. All the major advertisers are fighting to get a spot, from physical products to movie trailers, covering all fields. It can truly be said that they are spending a fortune.
Now, the sponsor that Leigh had signed for Lu Ke was actually qualified to compete for a Super Bowl comrcial spot? Did this an that its magnitude was not inferior to Rolex?
This was not surprising. Leigh had ntioned before that the number of companies willing to partner with Lu Ke was quite large, and he had been carefully vetting them. So, the one that stood out now was undoubtedly the result of multiple layers of selection. Inevitably, Lu Ke was also a little excited.
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