Jimmy Butler turns down adidas endorsement due to foot problems

By Blair Sheade

Bulls guard Jimmy Butler took a 75 percent endorsement pay cut to join the Air Jordan brand over adidas because his adidas shoes were causing foot problems.

Butler suffered from turf toe and rolled ankles while wearing adidas shoes, and he said it never happened when he was in college wearing the Jordan brand.

That’s never happened, whenever I was at Marquette with Jordan or before that, with Nike. So I thought maybe I should go back to that shoe. And then Jordan picked me up, Butler said.

Jimmy Butler will be back with Bulls — NBA insiderThe Bulls’ 30th pick in the 2011 draft joined the Air Jordan brand because Butler was always a fan of Michael Jordan while growing up in Houston, Texas. And Butler said he doesn’t play basketball for the money so he doesn’t care about the pay cut.

I’ve always been a fan of Mike and his game. What he did for the game of basketball as a whole, and what he did off the court for it too, whether it was with Hanes or his shoe brand. But I’ve always been a fan of the tennis shoe, Butler said. It’s not about the money. I do it because I love the game, for one. I think Mike takes care of his players. He’s always saying how this is a Jordan family.

Jimmy Butler looking for short-term dealNext season, no matter what city Butler plays for, fans will see NBA’s most improved player wearing Air Jordan on his feet.

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