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Nike deal

King of Allapattah said:
Sonny has always looked out for the little guy. It sucks how he got screwed over by Nike. Was a huge Eddie Rios fan back when Sonny was running Reebok. Today, he lives in one of the more exclusive neighborhoods in the country over in Calabasas. Doesn't leave the house much anymore, but holds court daily and is still very involved in the world of basketball. Good dude!
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I had dinner with Sonny and his brother Phil who owned Vaccaro's Italian Restaurant in Destin Fl in 1990.
 
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King of Allapattah said:
Sonny has always looked out for the little guy. It sucks how he got screwed over by Nike. Was a huge Eddie Rios fan back when Sonny was running Reebok. Today, he lives in one of the more exclusive neighborhoods in the country over in Calabasas. Doesn't leave the house much anymore, but holds court daily and is still very involved in the world of basketball. Good dude!
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However, Knight would then fire Vaccaro for working the angle outside of Nike’s interest at that very same meeting, even allegedly agreeing with Vaccaro’s famous analogy about gunslingers in the Wild West:

“I feel like a gunslinger in the Old West. The townspeople hired a gunslinger–me–to clean up the town and turn it into something they were proud of. Now, those townspeople no longer want the gunslinger around because he just doesn’t seem to fit their new image.”

However, fans of the 2023 Air movie should note that Vaccaro’s role in getting Jordan to sign with Nike was greatly exaggerated for dramatic effect. Speaking to Footwear News earlier this year, Vaccaro admitted that “They gave me more credit in the movie, but it’s basically what happened.”

“I was involved because I was the only one personally close to Michael, but it was their idea, it was something Peter and Rob pushed. I was the only person that could deliver it…I didn’t know the shoe was going to be Air Jordan and it was going to be red, black and white. All that was Peter and Rob. I only knew about the shoe when Peter and Rob told me they were going to design a shoe.”

Sonny wasn’t the reason MJ signed w/ Nike, he played “a” role, but the real MVP was MJ’s USA coach George Raveling.

Sonny also got fired from Nike b/c he was doing a side biz, and that side biz was going to be in direct conflict w/ Nike.
 
Rellyrell said:
However, Knight would then fire Vaccaro for working the angle outside of Nike’s interest at that very same meeting, even allegedly agreeing with Vaccaro’s famous analogy about gunslingers in the Wild West:

“I feel like a gunslinger in the Old West. The townspeople hired a gunslinger–me–to clean up the town and turn it into something they were proud of. Now, those townspeople no longer want the gunslinger around because he just doesn’t seem to fit their new image.”

However, fans of the 2023 Air movie should note that Vaccaro’s role in getting Jordan to sign with Nike was greatly exaggerated for dramatic effect. Speaking to Footwear News earlier this year, Vaccaro admitted that “They gave me more credit in the movie, but it’s basically what happened.”

“I was involved because I was the only one personally close to Michael, but it was their idea, it was something Peter and Rob pushed. I was the only person that could deliver it…I didn’t know the shoe was going to be Air Jordan and it was going to be red, black and white. All that was Peter and Rob. I only knew about the shoe when Peter and Rob told me they were going to design a shoe.”

Sonny wasn’t the reason MJ signed w/ Nike, he played “a” role, but the real MVP was MJ’s USA coach George Raveling.

Sonny also got fired from Nike b/c he was doing a side biz, and that side biz was going to be in direct conflict w/ Nike.
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Can't believe everything you see in the media or on the big screen. No question Raveling played a huge role in MJ signing with Nike, but so did Sonny. He was the one who got the ball rolling. Nike wasn't looking to sign MJ. They were looking at other guys. Sonny convinced Nike that MJ was the crown jewel and the one to go after. Raveling was crucial in closing the deal and I'm sure his relationship with MJ and the family was critical as well. I think Sonny and Raveling were both equally important. If not for either one of those two, it's likely MJ signs with Adidas or Converse.

Here's what the movie doesn't tell you after Nike signed MJ, Raveling felt Sonny was getting too big for his own britches and was using Nike to further his own career. Basically he felt Sonny's side hustles (camps and tournaments) should be owned and governed by Nike, not Sonny. When Sonny refused to share the pot and put his staff under Nike control they got rid of him. They were able to throw money and convince a few of Sonny's people that they could do Sonny's job and run the events. Adidas snatched Sonny right up after that.

At Adidas, Sonny brought them Kobe, got his ABCD Camp and Las Vegas events running and everything seemed peachy keen. However, when Lebron came around and Sonny made the $100 million offer, those numbnuts at Adidas reneged on the deal. Once that happened Sonny decided he was going to bounce. Adidas went to all of Sonny's closest guys and with the help of the Pump brothers they convinced most of the top AAU teams playing under the Adidas umbrella to leave Sonny and stay with them. Teams like Pump n' Run, Atlanta Celtics, DC Assault, and New Orleans Jazz (might be forgetting another team or two) became Co-Directors of Adidas Grassroots, got their budgets tripled, and were given lifetime consultant fees.

He went to Reebok afterwards and pretty much had to start everything over from scratch again. Very quickly, Reebok became a major player in the basketball shoe game. However, when Reebok realized Sonny was too expensive and were heading down a financially unsustainable road they decided to grab Sonny's sidekicks and convince them to run things. Same thing that happened at Reebok, happened at Adidas and at Nike. Bottom line is Sonny outgrows his role with the shoe companies and consequently becomes too expensive for them to keep. His budget demands are crazy. Shoe companies pay the bills and sponsor his events with Sonny keeping all the revenue. He also retained all media rights and ownership of his events.

Of the 3 shoe companies, Nike is the only one who was better off without Sonny running their grassroots division. I'm sure Adidas is still kicking themselves for not signing Lebron to that $100 million deal. Reebok grassroots doesn't even exist anymore. Today, Sonny still plays a big role in the basketball industry. Only difference is he's now doing a lot of it from the behind the scenes.
 
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King of Allapattah said:
Can't believe everything you see in the media or on the big screen. No question Raveling played a huge role in MJ signing with Nike, but so did Sonny. He was the one who got the ball rolling. Nike wasn't looking to sign MJ. They were looking at other guys. Sonny convinced Nike that MJ was the crown jewel and the one to go after. Raveling was crucial in closing the deal and I'm sure his relationship with MJ and the family was critical as well. I think Sonny and Raveling were both equally important. If not for either one of those two, it's likely MJ signs with Adidas or Converse.

Here's what the movie doesn't tell you after Nike signed MJ, Raveling felt Sonny was getting too big for his own britches and was using Nike to further his own career. Basically he felt Sonny's side hustles (camps and tournaments) should be owned and governed by Nike, not Sonny. When Sonny refused to share the pot and put his staff under Nike control they got rid of him. They were able to throw money and convince a few of Sonny's people that they could do Sonny's job and run the events. Adidas snatched Sonny right up after that.

At Adidas, Sonny brought them Kobe, got his ABCD Camp and Las Vegas events running and everything seemed peachy keen. However, when Lebron came around and Sonny made the $100 million offer, those numbnuts at Adidas reneged on the deal. Once that happened Sonny decided he was going to bounce. Adidas went to all of Sonny's closest guys and with the help of the Pump brothers they convinced most of the top AAU teams playing under the Adidas umbrella to leave Sonny and stay with them. Teams like Pump n' Run, Atlanta Celtics, DC Assault, and New Orleans Jazz (might be forgetting another team or two) became Co-Directors of Adidas Grassroots, got their budgets tripled, and were given lifetime consultant fees.

He went to Reebok afterwards and pretty much had to start everything over from scratch again. Very quickly, Reebok became a major player in the basketball shoe game. However, when Reebok realized Sonny was too expensive and were heading down a financially unsustainable road they decided to grab Sonny's sidekicks and convince them to run things. Same thing that happened at Reebok, happened at Adidas and at Nike. Bottom line is Sonny outgrows his role with the shoe companies and consequently becomes too expensive for them to keep. His budget demands are crazy. Shoe companies pay the bills and sponsor his events with Sonny keeping all the revenue. He also retained all media rights and ownership of his events.

Of the 3 shoe companies, Nike is the only one who was better off without Sonny running their grassroots division. I'm sure Adidas is still kicking themselves for not signing Lebron to that $100 million deal. Reebok grassroots doesn't even exist anymore. Today, Sonny still plays a big role in the basketball industry. Only difference is he's now doing a lot of it from the behind the scenes.
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Bro, no disrespect to u, but I know all of that.

I posted a direct quote from Sonny himself. I’ve met Sonny several times; great, GREAT guy. All what u’re saying is true; Sonny was the one who pushed Nike to pursue MJ. His connection to the HS level is legendary & unprecedented.

All Sonny was saying is the movie “Air” embellished a bit on his hand w/ MJ, but he was for sure instrumental. Also, imho, the reason y Sonny got the shaft was b/c of what his predecessors did (Peter Moore & Rob Strasser). Both up & left Nike, w/ Rob trying to get MJ to leave Nike w/ them to go to Adidas. Pete was the innovator of the J1’s, & the Jumpman Logo.

Just speaking w/ ppl on certain, I’m of the opinion there was part paranoia w/ Sonny starting his own thing, & part shifting gears & moving away from what he was originally hired for. I’m glad he’s still doing well, & living his best life in Calabasas. That used to be my territory when I worked in Santa Monica, & have a lot of former clients there.
 
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Rellyrell said:
Bro, no disrespect to u, but I know all of that.

I posted a direct quote from Sonny himself. I’ve met Sonny several times; great, GREAT guy. All what u’re saying is true; Sonny was the one who pushed Nike to pursue MJ. His connection to the HS level is legendary & unprecedented.

All Sonny was saying is the movie “Air” embellished a bit on his hand w/ MJ, but he was for sure instrumental. Also, imho, the reason y Sonny got the shaft was b/c of what his predecessors did (Peter Moore & Rob Strasser). Both up & left Nike, w/ Rob trying to get MJ to leave Nike w/ them to go to Adidas. Pete was the innovator of the J1’s, & the Jumpman Logo.

Just speaking w/ ppl on certain, I’m of the opinion there was part paranoia w/ Sonny starting his own thing, & part shifting gears & moving away from what he was originally hired for. I’m glad he’s still doing well, & living his best life in Calabasas. That used to be my territory when I worked in Santa Monica, & have a lot of former clients there.
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How's this for a direct quote from Sonny himself? "Phil Knight’s lying, Michael’s lying more than Phil and Raveling is insane. All three of them need to destroy me to live happily ever after. Everyone’s trying to rewrite history. It goes beyond Jordan. I am the savior of Nike." Not sure how accurate Sonny is with this statement but as I said before don't believe everything you see in the media or on the big screen.

And by the way, no disrespect to you but I seriously doubt you "know all of that". First off, none of us know all of that. Secondly, some of the info I've shared with you wasn't second hand information. Not stuff you'd get from a movie, media or internet. So I seriously you knew about everything I mentioned.

No need to go back and forth. You said your part, I said mine. Bottom line here is this, Raveling and Sonny both played integral parts in getting MJ to sign with Nike.
 
King of Allapattah said:
How's this for a direct quote from Sonny himself? "Phil Knight’s lying, Michael’s lying more than Phil and Raveling is insane. All three of them need to destroy me to live happily ever after. Everyone’s trying to rewrite history. It goes beyond Jordan. I am the savior of Nike." Not sure how accurate Sonny is with this statement but as I said before don't believe everything you see in the media or on the big screen.

And by the way, no disrespect to you but I seriously doubt you "know all of that". First off, none of us know all of that. Secondly, some of the info I've shared with you wasn't second hand information. Not stuff you'd get from a movie, media or internet. So I seriously you knew about everything I mentioned.

No need to go back and forth. You said your part, I said mine. Bottom line here is this, Raveling and Sonny both played integral parts in getting MJ to sign with Nike.
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Bro, I literally only seen the movie one time in passing. So I guess u missed the part where it said:

However, fans of the 2023 Air movie should note that Vaccaro’s role in getting Jordan to sign with Nike was greatly exaggerated for dramatic effect. Speaking to Footwear News earlier this year, Vaccaro admitted that “They gave me more credit in the movie, but it’s basically what happened.”

“I was involved because I was the only one personally close to Michael, but it was their idea, it was something Peter and Rob pushed. I was the only person that could deliver it…I didn’t know the shoe was going to be Air Jordan and it was going to be red, black and white. All that was Peter and Rob. I only knew about the shoe when Peter and Rob told me they were going to design a shoe.”

This wasn’t something from Phil, my guy. This was an interview that Sonny did himself that was posted in the article. Lol

And u’re right, there’s definitely no need to go back & forth on something like this, especially when Sonny has done countless appearances, interviews, there’s been a 30/30 about him, etc. etc.
 
MJ would've mentioned Sonny in his documentary, there was a whole *** episode on his shoe and his marketing, if he was that important.

He never mentioned him in any capacity.
 
Ashley Schaeffer said:
MJ would've mentioned Sonny in his documentary, there was a whole *** episode on his shoe and his marketing, if he was that important.

He never mentioned him in any capacity.
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I will say this, which also addresses the back-and-forth with @Rellyrell and @King of Allapattah ...

Sometimes memories and perspectives change over time. And what happened 35 years ago may seem different to different people upon reflection.

The Jordan documentary was amazing, but I also wouldn't take it as a final statement or assessment of everything that happened to MJ. Not to mention, the documentarian may have felt that with the movie coming out, that story would be told on its own.

At various points in his life, I think Sonny Vaccaro had reason to be upset with how he was treated by some people. If that changed relationships, to the point where some people are no longer as close as they once were, I think that's understandable. And statements made by Sonny Vaccaro at different points in his life may come across differently, depending on how he felt at the time.

No big deal. I think the key takeaway of the last page is that Sonny had a great eye and did a lot, even if he never got to enjoy a long run and/or take full credit.
 
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TheOriginalCane said:
I will say this, which also addresses the back-and-forth with @Rellyrell and @King of Allapattah ...

Sometimes memories and perspectives change over time. And what happened 35 years ago may seem different to different people upon reflection.

The Jordan documentary was amazing, but I also wouldn't take it as a final statement or assessment of everything that happened to MJ. Not to mention, the documentarian may have felt that with the movie coming out, that story would be told on its own.

At various points in his life, I think Sonny Vaccaro had reason to be upset with how he was treated by some people. If that changed relationships, to the point where some people are no longer as close as they once were, I think that's understandable. And statements made by Sonny Vaccaro at different points in his life may come across differently, depending on how he felt at the time.

No big deal. I think the key takeaway of the last page is that Sonny had a great eye and did a lot, even if he never got to enjoy a long run and/or take full credit.
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& for the record, in no way was I saying Sonny wasn’t instrumental in MJ coming to Nike. Sonny had a rear scouting gift in identifying young, marketable athletes. I was simply stating Sonny admitted himself that the movie gave him a bit more credit than it should. That’s all.

Fact is, he was vastly under appreciated, but it appears he’s found great contentment in life, he’s getting his roses in his later yrs.
 
Rellyrell said:
Bro, no disrespect to u, but I know all of that.

I posted a direct quote from Sonny himself. I’ve met Sonny several times; great, GREAT guy. All what u’re saying is true; Sonny was the one who pushed Nike to pursue MJ. His connection to the HS level is legendary & unprecedented.

All Sonny was saying is the movie “Air” embellished a bit on his hand w/ MJ, but he was for sure instrumental. Also, imho, the reason y Sonny got the shaft was b/c of what his predecessors did (Peter Moore & Rob Strasser). Both up & left Nike, w/ Rob trying to get MJ to leave Nike w/ them to go to Adidas. Pete was the innovator of the J1’s, & the Jumpman Logo.

Just speaking w/ ppl on certain, I’m of the opinion there was part paranoia w/ Sonny starting his own thing, & part shifting gears & moving away from what he was originally hired for. I’m glad he’s still doing well, & living his best life in Calabasas. That used to be my territory when I worked in Santa Monica, & have a lot of former clients there.
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@Rellyrell ....I met Sonny in 1990 in Destin Fl. At that time I was an Executive Sous Chef at a High End restaurant literally across the road (Hwy 98) from where Sonny's brother Phil opened up an Italian Rest called Vaccaro's. I and another Chef went in one night, and Phil stopped by the table to see how everything was, which led into a lengthy convo when he found out where we worked. Make a long story short, he invited me to stop by a week later, and was able to meet Sonny.
 
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CANEMC said:
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