Agassi buys Donnay rackets

[vsbabolat]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

Yes, but it's possible that Head bought out Sharapova's "lifetime contract" with Prince. In Agassi's case, Donnay didn't pay Head anything. Besides, it's possible that Head is paying Sharapova even more than Prince did so it would have been an easy decision for her to leave Prince. Not the case here with Agassi since Donnay is apparently not paying him anything. Also, with Prince's recent financial troubles, I'm sure they didn't put up much of a fight to either allow Sharapova's contract to be bought out by Head or just to stop paying her at all. I don't think Head is in the same dire financial trouble.

Sharapova took a pay cut to play with HEAD. She was also using her HEAD YT Radical Pro blacked for almost a year before she officially signed with HEAD. Sharapova was getting $25 million for 10 years from Prince. She still had another 5 years on the Prince deal when they both agreed to end the relationship. Sharapova signed with HEAD for a reported $10 million for 5 years. That would be a reduction of $500,000 a year if the twitter report is accurate.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/105392

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by vsbabolat

Sharapova took a pay cut to play with HEAD. She was also using her HEAD YT Radical Pro blacked for almost a year before she officially signed with HEAD. Sharapova was getting $25 million for 10 years from Prince. She still had another 5 years on the Prince deal when they both agreed to end the relationship. Sharapova signed with HEAD for a reported $10 million for 5 years. That would be a reduction of $500,000 a year if the twitter report is accurate.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/105392

But I thought Sharapova's deal with Prince was a "lifetime contract"?

"Prince Sports announced today that Maria Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon Champion and the most recognized face in professional women’s sports, has signed a lifetime endorsement agreement that extends their relationship together through her playing career and beyond."

http://www.tenniswire.org/archives/2006/aug/pr_571.html

In any case, if she had stayed with Prince, she would have ended up getting nothing per year from Prince when they declared bankruptcy which cancels previous contracts. Maybe she saw the writing on the wall and bolted before that happened? So in effect, she's making a lot more money now having switched to Head ($2 million/year) than if she stayed with Prince ($0 /year).

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by ChicagoJack

In his book, Agassi explains that he played with a Donnay frame for a brief moment in the 90's as a favor to Nick B. who was having money issues at the time.

FYI, Agassi was already using a Donnay racquet at the 1989 US Open. Not exactly sure when he switched from his Prince POG to the Donnay tough.

[Dave M]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

I'm sure he got a volume discount by buying 46 racquets.

Yes i would hope had he of wondered into TW shop and said "I'd like some discount for 46" they would of been able to take off 10% or so for him.

[sureshs]

The news item said he ordered 6 first, then 40 more later.

BTW, you guys think it must be the 102 Black, right?

If Agassi is willing to pay for them himself, I am assuming the racket is real good?

[PeteD]

It means it is good for his purposes

[sureshs]

Well, if it is good enough for Agassi, it should be more than good enough for us.

I am interested because this is one of the few cases where a player has actually chosen a racket independent of contract, that too after retirement after 20 years. Sampras did not play with the PS 85 after retirement.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by sureshs

Well, if it is good enough for me, it should be more than good enough for us.

I am interested because this is one of the few cases where a player has actually chosen a racket independent of contract, that too after retirement after 20 years. Sampras did not play with the PS 85 after retirement.

That's because Sampras had already switched to the PS Tour 90 before he officially retired. He was practicing with the PS Tour 90 throughout 2003 while debating which tournaments he should play in until he officially decided to retire at the 2003 US Open, so he never got to play any actual matches with it.

[MAXXply]

If he really loved the POG OS so much, why wouldn't Agassi simply buy a box full of the current ones? I mean, sure it's been nearly 25 years since he last wielded the original (or original 4-stripe), but isn't the current version still in the same ballpark in terms of mold at least?? That way, it wouldn't be a big leap back to what he liked best, frame-wise.

[RollTrackTake]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

In any case, if she had stayed with Prince, she would have ended up getting nothing per year from Prince when they declared bankruptcy which cancels previous contracts. Maybe she saw the writing on the wall and bolted before that happened? So in effect, she's making a lot more money now having switched to Head ($2 million/year) than if she stayed with Prince ($0 /year).

that's not necessarily true. Prince's new owners could have re-negotiated with Sharapova much like they recently did with Isner.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...168045016.html

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by RollTrackTake

that's not necessarily true. Prince's new owners could have re-negotiated with Sharapova much like they recently did with Isner.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...168045016.html

Yes, now that Prince has been acquired, they are a new company and can negotiate new contracts, but two years ago the future was more uncertain and a bankruptcy can nullify all existing contracts. At the time, it was a much safer bet for Sharapova to switch to Head for a guaranteed $2 million/year than risk having Prince stop making payments to her.

[UCSF2012]

You idiots. Lifetime contracts don't exist. Even if you sign a "lifetime contract," it's not enforcable in the US. It legally doesn't exist. That's why Sharapova easily walked away from her "lifetime contract." She didn't even have to pay any penalty. That's why Agassi didn't give a crap about his lifetime contract with Head.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by UCSF2012

You idiots. Lifetime contracts don't exist. Even if you sign a "lifetime contract," it's not enforcable in the US. It legally doesn't exist. That's why Sharapova easily walked away from her "lifetime contract." She didn't even have to pay any penalty. That's why Agassi didn't give a crap about his lifetime contract with Head.

Are you an attorney?

Of course, there are usually exit conditions written into these contracts, but if both parties perform as expected and neither party exercises their option to exit the contract then the contract can indeed be in effect for the rest of a player's career and beyond or for the rest of their life if that's how it's stipulated in the contract.

As far as Sharapova goes, Prince was in deep financial trouble and was probably happy to be able to stop paying her $2.5 million/year.