Patrick Johnson 
Back in late May, Jimmy Butler revealed that he took upwards of a 75% pay cut to leave adidas and sign with Jordan Brand. The news was shocking. Would you leave all of that money on the table just to ink a deal because one brand was seemingly cooler than another? But apparently there’s more to the story than just perceived mystique, as
Butler detailed a turning point with his time with the three stripes to GQ recently:
“I’m not bashing Adidas at all, but I got turf toe one year and rolled my ankles a few times. That’s never happened, whenever I was at Marquette with Jordan or before that, with Nike. So I thought maybe I should go back to that shoe. And then Jordan picked me up.”
A lot has changed for Butler since signing with Jordan Brand at the beginning of last year. He’s due for a near max-level contract with the Bulls and is now an All-Star. He no longer wears cowboy boots to games because he can get whatever Jordan retro he wants in his size 14. But the fact that Butler decided to switch due to lingering foot problems doesn’t bode well for adidas Hoops, especially when one of their marquee signature stars, Jimmy’s teammate Derrick Rose, has been plagued by injuries over the past couple of seasons. But D.Rose never tried to persuade Butler to stick with adidas. Butler went on:
“You can’t convince me, once my mind’s made up. They already knew. I was probably telling them halfway through the season, whenever it is, “When this year’s over, y’all can count on not seeing me in Adidas. I’m gonna be straight Jordan-ed out.” Now I’m never wanting to leave Brand Jordan.”
As for how he’s treated as a member of Jordan Brand:
“It’s not about the money. I do it because I love the game, for one. I think Mike takes care of his players. He’s always saying how this is a Jordan family. Everybody’s so cool to hang around, and you get a lot of respect, within that Jordan brand, to each and every individual, because you’re significantly really good at your particular sport. So, I think it was an easy choice, moving on to Jordan.”
You can check out the full article here.
Source: GQ
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