(S25) - PT 2 - Endorsement Money

[qWest]

I think one of biggest and most exciting parts of the career of any athlete lucky enough to get the call from their agent is getting an endorsement from a major shoe brand. For athletes, our shoes and cleats are one of the biggest parts of our style and expression on and off the field. Even growing up in Japan early on, we grew an appreciation for sneaker culture, and that appreciation blew up into a full-on obsession when I came to America. I grew up playing in and wearing mostly Nike and Jordan gear, especially since I got the extra hookup for a lot of Nike shoes and gear through my father while he was with the Mariners. I'd dreamed of having my own signature Jordans or Nike cleats when I made it into the pros, but once I made it, I found myself wanting to do something new, something bigger, something unique. The perfect opportunity came shortly after my rookie campaign when I got the call from my agent. It immediately caught my attention when he told me that Asics was interested in working with me since they've been one of the biggest shoe brands in Japan for a long time, even with a growing demand for American shoe imports, and also because they'd never made football cleats before. I took the call from the Asics CEO, even though I was still unsure of why they were interested in me. We had a great conversation and I learned that, especially with the continued growth of the X-League and demand for ISFL action in Japan, Asics wanted to launch an American football division and wanted me to become the face of the brand for football. I signed on for the endorsement before the call even ended. Since then, we've released two different signature cleats and a street shoe: the Nakōsoku 1 and 2 and the Nakatōri. It's been amazing as a Japanese athlete in the ISFL to work with Asics to use my love of shoes and cleats and my love of football to bring athletes in Japan and in America closer together. Plus I love how different it is to do crazy, super-goofy commercials for the Japanese marketing and then turn around and work with the much more serious, gritty marketing material for the American audience.