Former Arizona Wildcat superstar Deandre Ayton was officially announced as the newest member of the Puma family, signing with the brand on a four-year, multimillion-dollar deal a few days prior to the NBA Draft. Bleacher Report first reported Ayton's signing.
Ayton will also be joining former Duke freshman Marvin Bagley III as the new faces of Puma, making it the first time since 1998 the brand signed a player entering the NBA Draft in Vince Carter.
Ayton also tweeted a photo of him standing outside of the Puma hoops headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.
@PUMA Life’s Good pic.twitter.com/VxkLMDhnlq
— Deandre Ayton (@DeandreAyton) June 18, 2018
For Ayton, signing with Puma was the best opportunity for him entering his pro career.
"Puma was the best deal. To me, anybody can make your shoe. Anybody can make the best shoe for you and put the right fit in the shoe. We were dealing with Nike people, Under Armour and all the other shoe companies for a pretty long time," Ayton told Bleacher Report. "We just thought Puma was the right fit. My mom had a friend at Puma, but we didn't really know she was with Puma. But as I started to get more exposure to the world and basketball, she told us she was with Puma and knew people there. Just knowing all of these people personally, my mom felt comfortable."
The terms of Ayton's contract with Puma is unknown, but The Athletic reported on Thursday that Bagley is expected to have the largest shoe deal since Kevin Durant's contract with Nike in 2014, which was listed between $265 million and $285 million. Ayton didn't want to join another conglomerate and be just another piece to the pie, but rather start his own brand and grow it from there.
"It's always good to start your own thing and try to be great in it," Ayton said. "Nike is Nike. Adidas is Adidas. I've played in their circuits and stuff like that, but now it's a business. You don't want just product. You're not a kid anymore. You're really trying to get bank. That's about it."
With Puma as a global brand and Ayton being a Bahamas native, the former Wildcat also saw this as an opportunity to give back to his former community with gear and basketball camps.
"Coming from a different country, a lot of people know about Puma. Everybody knows about Nike, too, but Puma is known overseas," he said. "It's another huge step. It's not like it's foreign to the country I'm from. It's lit. It's nice to have a global brand everyone knows about.
"[Basketball camps] would be a huge step. That would be me giving back. I was the kid in basketball camps wanting to see the new gear that comes out or the gear that the camps give. I'm going to be giving them the best. I'm going to be giving them stuff I'm interested in and will be able to hear from the kids' perspectives about what they want."
Puma will announce its on-court shoe at a later date according to Bleacher Report, but Ayton and Bagley have already tested out the products.
"It was like a shoe that was mad comfortable. Usually when I try on a shoe, I have to wear my custom insoles in them. I didn't really have to try any insoles to put them on or play in them. It was pretty neat and comfortable," Ayton said.
Puma hasn't been a popular brand in basketball since it signed New York Knicks legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier in 1973. Frazier signed a life-time deal with Puma last week. Puma is most notably known for its soccer and track gear, but has signed celebrities and musical artists over the years. Rihanna, Jay-Z, Big Sean, Kylie Jenner, Meek Mill, Eve, Selena Gomez, Rae Sremmurd, Vic Mensa and Casey Veggies are all Puma signees.
Ayton said in the interview with Bleacher Report that he wants to do a collaboration with Rihanna.
"Shoot, when is Rihanna gonna link up with me? I need to see Rihanna. I need to talk to her for a little bit and do a little collab. But yeah, that's gonna be litty. That's gonna be real lit," Ayton said.
