Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan will sign a four-year deal with Nike to remain one of the leading endorsers of the Kobe Bryant signature line, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
DeRozan was most recently seen rocking a pair of Kobe 6s when he teamed up with LeBron James at Drew League two weeks ago. The five-time All-Star, who played in Kobes throughout high school and college, became the most active representative of the Kobe signature line after Bryant retired in 2016.
Nike and the Bryant estate could not come to terms on a new contract following Kobe’s passing but reached an agreement in March of this year, according to ESPN’s Nick DePaula. DeRozan has regularly debuted the latest Kobe models and consistently rocked older models from his collection since his rookie season.
“For me personally, he meant everything to me basketball-wise,” DeRozan told reporters when speaking about Bryant’s influence in January. “That’s well documented, a mentor of mine, a friend of mine, someone that taught me a big part of the game and motivated me to have the mentality that I have today.”
The 32-year-old earned a new deal with Nike after leading the Bulls to the playoffs for the first time in five years and averaging a career-high 27.9 points per game last season. While no specifics regarding DeRozan’s role with Nike have been announced, we can expect the Compton native to continue rocking Beans for the foreseeable future.
