TWO MORE drops.
That’s how many more Kobe signature shoes we can expect from Nike, now that the Swoosh and the estate of the latest superstar failed to come to terms in their contract extension.
The news comes straight from an IG story posted by Vanessa Bryant, who posted a pic of the white/Del Sol-colored Kobe 6 Protro ‘POP’.
It’s not immediately clear what these final two drops will be. Last year, Nike was gearing up to re-release multiple variants of the Kobe 6 via Protros, including the vibrant ‘Orange County’, the Joker-inspired ‘Chaos’, and the eye-catching ‘3D Hollywood’ and ‘3D Lakers’.
After those two final releases, will this be the end of Kobe sneakers?
After news broke last week of the falling-out between Nike and the Black Mamba’s heirs, old speculation resurfaced about Kobe’s plans to release his own brand.
In December last year, the co-founder of Virgin Hyperloop Sherwin Pishevar tweeted that he had met with Bryant a month before his death to discuss “Mamba, a shoe company owned by players.”
The entrepreneur even shared designs of a futuristic boot, which he claims were designed by his team to show to Kobe.
Pishevar said: “What [Bryant] was about to do in business was going to eclipse his sports career.”
On April 20 of this year (after the big news broke that the contract had come to an end), intellectual property attorney Josh Gerben told CNBC that, since May 2020, “more than 13 trademarks” have been filed by the Kobe Bryant estate.
"The filings would suggest Vanessa [Bryant] is building an IP portfolio for a new brand launch,” Gerben said to CNBC.
What trademarks would that be? A Twitter account named Sneaker Law Firm tipped Nice Kicks last Wednesday about those trademark applications.
These include Mamba, “a trademark registration intended to cover the categories of clothing.” Footwear is included in the lengthy list of categories. A coiled snake logo is also shown, as well as trademark applications for “Mambacita”, “Mamba League, “Lil’ Mambas”, “Kobe Bryant”, “Play Gigi’s Way”, and more.
The trademark applications are dated from as early as May 14 of last year (for “Kobe Bryant”), to as recently as March 23 for “2” and “Play Gigi’s Way.”
So, will be Kobe shoes split from Nike and become an all-new brand? Let’s see.
Meanwhile, Nike Kobe sneakers are already becoming hot commodities in the resale mearket. Philippine sneaker store Rock N Sole PH has posted a video of rows and rows of Kobe 6 'Grinches', as well as Kobe 5 'Bruce Lees' and 'Lakers'.
"Investment piece," it said in an Instagram post. "Prices of these Kobes are expected to shoot up in the next few months."
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