But it’s not just the fans who do this. …

But it’s not just the fans who do this. Sometimes, players believe they’re going to get a ton of money from their sneaker contract only to be disappointed when that’s not the case. “I think there’s this expectation that everybody gets a big shoe deal, but not everybody can get that kind of contract,” NBA agent Roger Montgomery said. “I think that misconception hurts agents sometimes because every player thinks they can get a huge sneaker deal because they’ve heard about some of these big deals that other players got. They may just get a merch deal that only gives them free product. It’s still a shoe deal, but it’s not the piece of the pie that they expected.”

“Look at it this way: If you’re a max …

“Look at it this way: If you’re a max player, you’re trying to get a signature deal. If you’re a mid-level player, you’re likely going to get a cash deal,” NBA agent Roger Montgomery said. “And if you’re a minimum player, you’re just going to get free product.” Every NBA team has a storage room either at their arena or facility where they have a bunch of shoes in their team’s colors that brands send them. For players who don’t have any shoe deal, their team’s equipment manager will typically provide them with free shoes from this room.