Sonny Vaccaro
Sonny Vaccaro
John Paul Vincent Vaccarois an American former sports marketing executive...
kids school years
Kobe [Bryant] had the biggest contract for a high school kid. He was the first one to get more than a million a year.
athlete school years
LeBron james came, and he gets $10 million a year. There was no stigma or blemish, like you have with one-and-done. Now people say, "He's not a student, he's an athlete." Well, of course he's not a student! He's here for one year and he told you he's here for one year, and the school took him with open arms.
player college years
There's Brandon Jennings. The NBA told him to go to college for a year, and he said, "Screw that. I'll go to Europe and make a million bucks and then come back." And he's proven to be a pretty damn good player. He's done as much for the game as Michael [Jordan] by forging a different route.
basketball college years
I was starting out in the business, there was only one path to playing professionally - graduate, or go four years. With the creation of the ABA [American Basketball Association] in the early 1970s, the sanctity of having to go to college was broken. The ABA took anyone, starting with Spencer Haywood.
building expansion kids shoes thrill within
We'll have the young kids in our shoes within 18 months. This is a thrill for me. It's like I'm building my own expansion team.
toys turned
I've got a lot of toys to play with. I just turned 64, and I'm reinventing myself again.
cost effort great name wrapped
They want to own everything. They have successfully wrapped up every great name athlete. They have made a concentrated effort to do that, cost be damned.
last people team tournament worked
All O.J. did was play for another team last weekend. People are getting too worked up about it. It was just one tournament in April.
city found high looks permanent school talent
This city is one of the hotbeds for high school talent in the country. It looks like we've found a permanent home.
last mean
Going into these last two years, it was Greg and Derrick. I mean he was right there.
enthusiasm highest kids picked
Patrick's enthusiasm is contagious. He is what you want kids to feel like when they are picked for this kind of event. And the kid can play at the very highest level.
dominant easily man moses since
Greg is easily the most dominant big man since Shaquille O'Neal. And I go all the way back to Moses Malone.
hurt player college
What would have happened if Derrick Rose had torn his knee in college, or Greg Oden? It would have cost them millions of dollars. They were lucky, coming out early. I'm not saying don't go to college. There are plenty of players like Shaq [O'Neal] who went back and graduated. I commend that. But do it at your leisure - don't hurt your finances.
nike games jordan
In terms of my work with Nike, obviously signing Michael Jordan to a $500,000 contract in 1984 set a new precedent for the business side of the game.