Reebok made its largest commitment to an athlete in years because it believes former University of Kentucky point guard John Wall is an “aspirational” player who can capture the imagination of kids worldwide, said Tom Shine, senior vice president of global sports and entertainment marketing. The agreement, announced last week, has been reported as being worth $25 million over five years, and though Shine would not discuss the size of the deal or any details about it, he did say, “No question, it's the largest transaction we have had in sports for quite a while.” Shine said Wall is the type of player who comes along only “once every several years.”
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.