NBA
Anthony Davis Scored a ‘Groundbreaking Endorsement Deal' Shortly After Joining the Lakers
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sports7 in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sports7, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
All posts by Joe KozlowskiUpdated30 Sep 2020
As any basketball fan can tell you, Anthony Davis is a big presence on the NBA landscape. While that's true in a literal sense—the center is not a small man by any stretch of the imagination—the LA Lakers star stands tall in both basketball and business.
Although plenty of professional athletes land big-name endorsements, Anthony Davis took things a bit further in 2020. Taking advantage of his star status, the Lakers center landed a “groundbreaking” deal with one particular brand.
Anthony Davis is one of basketball's biggest names
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In the modern NBA, there's less room for conventional big men; ideally, everyone has to be able to handle the ball and spread the floor. Anthony Davis, however, hasn't had a problem making a name for himself at the professional level.
The center initially burst onto the scene in his hometown of Chicago, where he played both high school and AAU ball. He showed enough talent on the hardwood to earn a place at the University of Kentucky. During his brief college career—like many John Calipari recruits, Davis only spent one season on campus—the big man cleaned up. In addition to averaging 17.7 points, 13 rebounds, and 5.8 blocks per game, he also claimed multiple National Player of the Year awards and won the NCAA championship.
Davis then entered into the 2011 NBA draft, joining the New Orleans Hornets as the first-overall pick; the franchise would rebrand as the Pelicans, and the center grew into a legitimate star.
Although Davis lifted his team to relevance, he eventually tired of being the big fish in a small pond. In January 2019, he requested a trade to a contending team; once the regular season ended, he got his wish and joined the Lakers, where he's starred alongside LeBron James.
The big man is no stranger to big-money deals
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As we've already established, Anthony Davis is a big man with talent to match. That reality has also helped the Lakers center build up a big bank account during his time in the NBA.
According to Spotrac, Davis has earned a total of $121 million thus far in his career; being the first-overall pick and growing into a legitimate star certainly has its perks. While his future is up in the air—the center can hit free agency this fall or activate his option and spend another year with the Lakers—AD's bottom line will only continue to rise.
His financial interests, however, don't start and end with basketball. According to Forbes, Davis has sponsorship deals with Beats Electronics, ExxonMobil, First Entertainment Credit Union, and Nike; he's also appeared on the cover of NBA 2K and is set to appear in the Space Jam 2.
Anthony Davis scored a unique deal with Ruffles after becoming a Laker
For the most part, Anthony Davis' endorsement deals all seem like pretty standard stuff. His partnership with Ruffles, however, has been a bit more unique.
Shortly after Davis joined the Lakers, he also teamed up with the Ruffles brand. He wasn't simply coming on board to be a pitchman, though. According to a press release from the time, the center was signing “a first-of-its-kind “Chip Deal” that puts Davis in the driver's seat as a Ruffles creative partner to develop bold products and offer transformational fan experiences.”
In addition to helping bring the custom ‘Ruffles Ridge Top' sneakers to life, Davis also ventured into the culinary side of the operation. Ahead of the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, Ruffles launched a limited-edition lime and jalapeno chip; in addition to inspiring the flavor, the Lakers big man also appeared on the bag.
“Chip lovers and basketball fans finally get a taste of what's been cooking with Ruffles and six-time NBA All-Star, Anthony Davis' groundbreaking endorsement deal, The Chip Deal,” a PR statement explained. “Ruffles, one of the marquee brands from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, and the basketball powerhouse set yet another new precedent and go where no other athlete collaboration has gone before – the co-creation of a custom potato chip flavor.”
It's not clear how much money Anthony Davis earned from his Ruffles deal. It's safe to assume, however, that he can afford as many potato chips as he could ever want.
Stats courtesy of Sports-Reference and Basketball-Reference
