Grammy Award-winning rap star Kanye West signed a $10 million dollar deal with footwear giant Adidas. The corporate sponsorships keep rolling in for West, despite his recent rants against corporate greed. While $10 million might not seem like a lot of money considering the hundreds of millions Adidas and Nike throw at professional athletes for endorsements, West will reportedly receive royalties on his products which was the main reason for his split with Nike.
Adidas officials confirmed the news in a statement:
“For 2014, we welcome to the Adidas family one of the most influential cultural icons of this generation, Kanye West. Well known for breaking boundaries across music, film and design, and partnering with our history in street wear culture and leading innovations in sport, we look forward to creating a new chapter. Details to follow.”
Kanye is finally free to fulfill his dream of becoming the Michelangelo of product. Adidas also announced that it predicts $23 billion in sales by 2015 – a number certainly inflated with the signing of West.
With the opening of one door at Adidas, unfortunately another one closed. It looks as though the Twitter beef with Rihanna hurt Teyana Taylor’s partnership with the mega brand. Taylor was supposed to release an Adidas sneaker line for Black Friday, and rumors started swirling when the shoe never surfaced.
Last week, after speculation that the singer had been dropped by the company, her rep quickly denied the claims, saying the “Harlem GLC” sneakers were on hold.
But this week, a senior public relations manager at Adidas confirmed that the brand will no longer be partnering with Taylor.
When asked whether the relationship ended over Taylor’s Twitter spat with Rihanna – she changed her Twitter header to a photo of Rihanna’s battered face, an Adidas official responded:
“All I can say is that Adidas partners with athletes and artists who blend well with our brand values. We evaluate our relationships with partners based on the values we hold at Adidas and we don’t condone violence of any kind.”
There may be sad news for Taylor on the Adidas front, but West is definitely smiling after inking a deal with the shoe brand.
