LaVar Ball Reportedly Declined $10 Million Lonzo Shoe Deal

Sports apparel giants Nike, Adidas and Under Armour were reportedly prepared to offer UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball, a top prospect in the 2017 NBA draft, a $10 million shoe contract, but his father, LaVar Ball, wanted a "more lucrative" deal.

ESPN's Darren Rovell reported the information during an appearance this week on the Dan Patrick Show, per Brad Crawford of 247Sports.

"We said Tiger (Woods) might be the next Jordan taking over, but there is no next Jordan in basketball or probably no next Jordan anywhere," Rovell said. "I know that's going to disappoint LaVar Ball, but I think you have to say that."

Rovell went on to say LaVar Ball is betting on his Big Baller Brand rather than taking a deal that could have doubled his son's rookie salary. The ESPN business reporter told Patrick he's surprised the patriarch didn't take a different route after the Los Angeles Lakers landed the second overall pick.

"It's strange to me that LaVar didn't at least fold some of his cards and go back to the shoe companies in earnest," he said. "After the Lakers thing goes down and the perfect scenario is going to unfold, the new deal, Nike (to) five years and $20 million. But what does LaVar Ball do? Instead of saying he now wants $1 billion, he now wants $3 billion."

Ball previously made waves when Slam confirmed his son's first signature shoe would be released without the backing of any of the major shoe companies and would cost $495

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