ONE OF Nike’s most popular signature shoes may see its last drop with the Kobe 6 Protro 'POP'.
Multiple outlets have reported that Nike and the estate of the late Kobe Bryant will not be continuing their partnership after the contract expired this month.
ESPN’s Nick DePaula tweeted that “Vanessa Bryant did not renew [the] contract.”
This contract extension was signed in 2016 in the wake of Bryant’s retirement. Five years later, it appears that “Vanessa Bryant and the Kobe Bryant estate elected not to renew the partnership,” wrote De Paula in his full article.
The basketball superstar's widow told ESPN: "It seems fitting that more NBA players wear my husband's product than any other signature shoe."
The Athletic's Shams Charania said that the Bryants are now “free to negotiate a new deal with other brands.”
Sources told DePaula that the Bryant estate had become "frustrated" with the shoe brand, especially around issues of availability and "Kobe footwear in Kids sizes."
In addition, the estate was reportedly unhappy with the extension terms offered by the Swoosh, which they compared unfavorably with the "lifetime structure" of Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
In a statement, Nike said: “Kobe Bryant was an important part of Nike’s deep connection to consumers. He pushed us and made everyone around him better. Though our contractual relationship has ended, he remains a deeply loved member of the Nike family.”
The Swoosh released the white-and-Del Sol Kobe VI Protro 'POP' in Asia last April 14.
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