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Last month, Chicago Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler made headlines when his agent, Happy Walters, detailed that he took almost a 75% pay cut to leave adidas and join Jordan Brand. The news wasn’t shocking in terms of Butler’s personal preference – which was the only reason vocalized at the time – but now more details are beginning to emerge chronicling the story in greater detail regarding his departure from the Three Stripes.
In a recent interview with GQ, Butler made a few comments offering more insight into the branding switch:
“I’ve always been a fan of Mike and his game. What he did for the game of basketball as a whole, and what he did off the court for it too, whether it was with Hanes or his shoe brand. But I’ve always been a fan of the tennis shoe. So when I got an opportunity to switch from Adidas to Jordan, I just thought it was the right choice, because I’ve never had problems with my feet. I’m not bashing Adidas at all, but I got turf toe one year and rolled my ankles a few times. That’s never happened, whenever I was at Marquette with Jordan or before that, with Nike. So I thought maybe I should go back to that shoe. And then Jordan picked me up.”
Butler was very self facing and politically correct in his comments. He made it clear this wasn’t an adidas diss, but more about personal/career preservation. And for that, who can blame him. Read the full interview now at GQ here.
