库里签了李宁——美国球星和中国公司的 4 亿大合同

Today we're going to talk about something that happened recently.

An American basketball sports star signed a new contract.

This contract is with a Chinese company.

The contract is enormous.

The whole world is talking about it.

Let's go through it slowly today.

First, the sports star.

This sports star is named Curry.

Curry's full name is Stephen Curry.

In Chinese, people call him Kuli.

Curry is American.

He plays basketball.

What is basketball?

Basketball is: a kind of ball sport.

On each side, there's a tall basket.

Put the ball into the other side's basket and you get points.

The side with more points wins the game.

Curry plays basketball very, very well.

He plays on a famous team in America.

This team is called the Warriors.

The Warriors are based in California.

They're one of the most famous basketball teams in America.

Curry has played on the Warriors for many years.

He has won the championship four times.

What is a championship?

A championship means: the strongest team out of all the teams that year.

Winning the championship four times is very impressive.

So all Americans know Curry.

Chinese people also know him.

You might know him too.

Why do Chinese people know Curry?

Because he has been to China seven times.

All seven times were to meet fans.

What are fans?

Fans are: people who love sports stars.

Every time Curry goes to China, there are a huge number of fans.

A massive number of people.

So in China, Curry is also very famous.

This year, Curry is thirty-eight.

For a basketball star, thirty-eight isn't young.

But he's still playing.

Now let's talk about the contract he signed.

He signed a contract with a Chinese company.

This company is called Li-Ning.

What is Li-Ning?

Li-Ning is a company that makes sneakers and clothes.

It also makes hats, and other sports things.

Li-Ning is very famous in China.

It's a big brand that all Chinese people know.

What does "brand" mean?

A "brand" means: the name of a company.

For example, Li-Ning is a brand.

Nike is also a brand.

So what does this contract Curry signed mean?

The contract means: from now on, Curry will wear Li-Ning's shoes.

When playing.

And in daily life.

His clothes will also be Li-Ning.

And Li-Ning will pay Curry.

How much money is this contract?

Four hundred million US dollars.

Four hundred million sounds like a lot.

And this isn't one year's pay.

This contract is signed for ten years.

That means: for the next ten years.

Curry wears Li-Ning.

Li-Ning pays Curry.

You might want to ask: why is this contract so big?

Why is everyone talking about it?

Because this thing has several special points.

The first special point.

Curry didn't used to wear Li-Ning's shoes.

He used to wear shoes from an American company.

That company is called Under Armour.

Curry wore Under Armour shoes for thirteen years.

Thirteen years is a long time.

And in Under Armour, he had his own brand.

Called "Curry Brand."

He was the boss of it himself.

But last November.

Curry and Under Armour split up.

He's no longer wearing Under Armour.

At the time, everyone was guessing: where would he go next?

Some said: maybe he'll go back to Nike.

Some said: maybe he'll sign with Adidas.

But everyone guessed wrong.

He chose a Chinese company.

He chose Li-Ning.

This is the part people find different.

The second special point.

The money in the contract really is a lot.

Four hundred million US dollars.

For a thirty-eight-year-old sports star, this kind of money is rare.

And.

I just said four hundred million, but actually.

Li-Ning isn't the company that offered the most money.

Other companies offered more than Li-Ning.

But Curry didn't choose them.

He chose Li-Ning.

This makes it even more puzzling.

So why did Curry choose Li-Ning?

He himself said one reason.

He has two friends who already wear Li-Ning's shoes.

These two friends are also basketball stars.

One is named Butler.

Butler is on the same team as Curry.

They play together.

There's also one named Wade.

Wade is a veteran American sports star.

He used to be very famous.

He doesn't play anymore.

But he still works with Li-Ning.

Curry saw them wearing Li-Ning's shoes.

He tried them too.

After trying them, he thought: "These shoes really are good."

So he signed with Li-Ning.

His teammate Green heard the news and said one sentence.

He said: "This is truly unbelievable."

"Unbelievable" means: too amazing to imagine.

Green also said: "At thirty-eight, still getting a contract this big."

"This has never happened before."

The third special point.

Is Li-Ning's "ambition."

What is ambition?

Ambition means: wanting to do something very, very big.

Now Li-Ning has signed Curry.

What does Li-Ning want to do?

They say: from now on they'll open many stores in America.

The stores will sell Curry's shoes.

And sell Curry's clothes.

They also want to: open many stores in China.

So Chinese people will buy too.

So Li-Ning hired Curry.

Not just to have Curry wear Li-Ning.

But to use Curry's name.

To sell Li-Ning to the whole world.

But not everyone is happy about this.

Some Americans say: Curry is American.

Why is he signing with a Chinese company?

Some also mention one thing.

That is: Li-Ning's shoes.

Used to not be allowed to be sold in America.

Some Americans say: Li-Ning's factories have problems.

We won't get into whether the problem is big or small today.

But it's something in the background of this story.

Finally, when I look at this news, I have one feeling.

That is: the world really is changing.

In the past, American sports stars all signed with American companies.

Chinese sports stars signed with Chinese companies.

Now it's different.

Wherever the money is, that's where people go.

The Chinese market is too big.

Chinese fans are too many.

So American sports stars are starting to sign with Chinese companies.

I'm guessing, more of this will happen in the future.

Finally I want to ask you a question.

In your country.

Are there famous people who've signed contracts with companies from other countries?

The kind of contract that makes people feel "this would have been impossible before."

How did you feel hearing about it?

Did you think it was good?

Or did you think it was a little strange?

How do you see it?