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Adu could grow soccer's popularity and Nike's wallet

By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

For those who doubted Nike when the company signed Tiger Woods to a five-year, $40 million deal in 1996 or laughed at the absurdity of LeBron James' seven-year contract worth $100 million, try criticizing "Swoosh" executives for the signing of 14-year old Freddy Adu. In a deal that could one day be compared to the five-year, $2.5 million the shoe giants agreed to pay Michael Jordan in 1984, Adu's multi-year deal is worth only $1 million. Soccer in America isn't golf and certainly isn't baske ...

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