Chapter 204: Chapter 130: The Eyes of All America Converge Here

"More than a collaboration, it’s a signature shoe, plus training gear," Don Quixote corrected. "That’s the kind of treatment Jordan, LeBron, and Kobe get. The first year’s might just be a standard player edition, but as soon as you have a breakout performance—even just one phenomenal game—your personal ’King’ line will launch immediately."

He pointed to an inconspicuous clause in the contract. "Annual sales of 40 million USD. It sounds like a lot, but for Nike, that’s just an entry-level threshold. If your shoes really take off, that number could multiply by ten."

"So they’re still betting on whether I can help them break into the Celestial Dynasty market," Li Wei said, picking up the pen. "Let’s sign it, then. I’m getting this signing bonus and appearance fee no matter what."

After signing, Li Wei looked at the three contracts laid out before him.

"Two million, 250,000, and three million," he said. "So I just made 5.25 million USD today?"

"That’s right," Don Quixote nodded. "And it’s the full 5.25 million USD, since it’s not time to file taxes yet."

"This is just the beginning," he continued. "Once you start playing games and making more appearances after September this year, your salary from the Giants will also increase. But that will all be post-tax income with taxes deducted directly. It’s W-2 wage income, which is very difficult to tax-shelter."

"Oh, right," he said, pausing. "There’s one more thing."

Li Wei turned around.

"Spend all this money before December 31st," Don Quixote said with a shrug. "Unless you plan on paying taxes to the Internal Revenue Service."

That night, Li Wei, in a rare turn of events, stayed up all night, seriously contemplating how to spend all that money down to zero in just over half a year without buying sports cars or indulging in a debaucherous lifestyle.

「Seven days until the press conference.」

Just as the morning sun began to stream into his room in Battery City Park, Li Wei got into the black Cadillac Escalade and drove to an arts district in Brooklyn.

Elizabeth Mellon’s Mellon Art Gallery was nearby. ’I wonder if she’s inside,’ Li Wei suddenly thought.

The photoshoot went smoothly. Li Wei had a naturally high-fashion, photogenic face with no bad angles. He looked handsome wearing any brand of headphones. His 3.0 constitution even meant he no longer got pimples, and his skin was so good the photographer didn’t need to do any retouching.

Before leaving, Li Wei also took a huge pile of freebies, like the newest Solo model, limited editions in various colors, portable speakers, and so on, which he could give away as gifts or use himself.

Next, Li Wei went to the Nike New York Headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. A giant "Just Do It" banner hung across three full stories of the glass curtain wall.

Li Wei and the design team selected the firmness of the shoe’s air cushion and the moisture-wicking fabric for the training gear. Li Wei’s jersey number was "1," a number personally chosen for him by John Mara.

"This one..." A manager from the apparel design department frowned upon seeing a fabric Li Wei had chosen. "This might be a bit difficult. The manufacturing process is a little complex."

"Can’t you make it?" Li Wei asked. "Or does the cost not cover it?"

"It’s neither of those..." The manager shook his head. "It’s just that the production cycle is slightly longer than for standard fabrics. We might not make it for the simultaneous launch in a week."

He directed the second half of his sentence toward a general manager of a Nike department, who was also the highest-ranking executive accompanying Li Wei.

"It’s fine," the general manager said after a moment’s thought. "Have the factory in Vietnam work overtime. They should be able to produce the first batch."

「One hour later. A Nike contract factory in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.」

A production line originally dedicated to making jerseys for the Kansas team’s number one Quarterback, Mahomes, was temporarily cleared. All workers had their phones confiscated and were made to sign additional non-disclosure agreements.

"Production lot NYG-SP-001?" The production line supervisor, Ruan Wenxiong, slammed the process sheet onto the table. "You’re asking for a laser-perforated ventilation design on the back, plus a layer that needs to sit for 12 hours to set the color, and you want us to produce 100,000 units in five days? With a yield rate no lower than the standard?"

"Yes, that’s right," said the head of Nike Asia’s supply chain. "We can provide any special quick-drying agents you need. Also, if you don’t have enough manpower, temporarily shut down one of the Eagles’ lines and transfer the skilled workers over."

"Is it really necessary?" Ruan Wenxiong wasn’t completely clueless about athletes. "He’s just a rookie. A number one draft pick level?"

"It’s an order from the boss," the supply chain head said. "Make it happen. Five days, 100,000 units for the initial launch."

Ruan Wenxiong hung up the phone, irritably scratching his forehead as he looked down at the workers on the assembly line.

"Stop the line! Shut it all down!" he shouted. "Everyone, listen to me!"

While thousands of kilometers away in Vietnam, hundreds, or even thousands, of workers were losing sleep to work overtime because of a single personal preference of Li Wei’s, major media outlets were left completely baffled by the invitations sent out by the Giants.

Normally, an NFL team only needs to issue a simple PDF press release to announce a player signing. But this time, the Giants’ PR department sent out 450 physical invitations worldwide—not just to sports journalists, but also to top media outlets in finance, fashion, and even technology.

Furthermore, the press conference wasn’t being held in the interview room at the Giants’ training facility, but in the main press hall of MetLife Stadium. The invitations also came with a rare non-disclosure agreement (NDA), demanding that the specific wording of the invitation not be leaked before April 2nd.

Meanwhile, top NFL insider Adam Schefter, a famous reporter for ESPN, received over 200 tips on his phone in a single day, a mix of truth and fiction.

One of them went like this: an intern working at the NFL Alliance office privately revealed, "Someone is using a special channel outside of the ’supplemental draft.’ The documents were not only signed by Commissioner Roger, but were also CC’d to the top brass of the players’ union."

For the Alliance and the union to give the green light simultaneously and bypass the regular draft process was something that had only happened in a few rare instances in history. Adam Schefter posted a tweet: *It seems something unprecedented is about to happen at MetLife Stadium.*

Because of the Giants’ approach, many people started to connect the dots to the high school prodigy, Li Wei. Could all this be to build hype for him?

With five days to go until the press conference, the betting markets began to react. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

An inside source codenamed "The Italian" posted a tip on a private gamblers’ forum: someone had seen the Giants’ general manager frequently entering and exiting the legal counsel’s office, holding an undisclosed "special clause application."

At the same time, the betting odds on the Giants began to shift slightly due to these rumors, moving from +450 to +400. Although the change was quite small, it meant that millions of USD were starting to be wagered on the Giants having a strong new player next season.

Meanwhile, on betting sites in London, the Caribbean Sea, the Philippines, Las Vegas, and Monaco, the betting lines for the New York Giants’ win total for the next season were suddenly flooded with a huge amount of money. This money wasn’t betting on the Giants to win the Super Bowl, but simply on them winning more than 10 games.

It seemed this "smart money" was also banking on Li Wei becoming the first person in history to join the NFL under such unprecedented circumstances, and signing with the storied New York Giants right off the bat.

But things didn’t develop in that direction.

Four days before the press conference, another famous insider on par with Schefter made his voice heard: Wor God. Renowned for his deep connections with high-level executives in the league and on the NCAA committee, his scoops were almost always accurate.

He expressed his opinion on a podcast, and his tone could even be described as definitive.

"Some people are talking about a high school prodigy, Li Wei—the one who won MVP in both the practice and the game at the All-American Bowl," the host asked. "Wor God, I was wondering if you know that he’s recently been pushed into the spotlight again?"

"Oh, of course I know about that," said Wor God, a veteran reporter who had been grinding in the industry for 40 years. "You’re talking about the rumors that the Giants will officially announce on April 2nd that he’s joining the NFL, becoming the first person in history to skip the NCAA, right?"

"Yes, that’s right," the host said. "You’re a senior figure in the industry. I wonder if you’ve gotten any solid information from your high-level sources in the league."

"To be honest, I do have some information," Wor God said. "But none of it points to this as a possibility. The NCAA hasn’t budged internally. Furthermore, the intel I have claims that the so-called ’April 2nd press conference’ is just a marketing event by the Giants to combat their declining attendance in recent years."

"And that does seem to be the case," the host said, reading from his notes. "In fact, after the Giants announced the April 2nd press conference, sales for next season’s ticket packages increased by 8.7%, the best they’ve been in the last five years."

Due to Wor God’s track record of accuracy, the Giants’ odds of winning the championship instantly plummeted from 1:1800 back to 1:5000. Many of the small-time gamblers who had followed the initial trend were now wailing in despair, rushing to sell off their betting slips.

Public opinion did a complete 180 in a short time. People on social media began to mock those who believed Li Wei would sign, calling them "April Fools’ idiots."

Supporters and detractors once again clashed online, and it even began to affect Li Wei’s classmates and friends.

Since Li Wei had recently taken leave from school, his teammates, like Travis and Craig, were suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

Thanks to Wor God’s near-definitive debunking of the rumor, the odds on DraftKings and FanDuel for "Will Li Wei sign with the Giants on April 2nd?" completely collapsed.

The odds for "No" dropped to an outrageous -2000, meaning you’d have to bet 2,000 USD just to win 100. This meant the market considered it a foregone conclusion—that there was absolutely no way Li Wei would sign.

Meanwhile, the odds for "Yes" skyrocketed to +1200 due to a lack of interest and a mass exodus of money, meaning a 100 USD bet could win 1,200 USD.

The eyes of the entire nation were once again focused on Li Wei. Tens of thousands of people, and tens of millions of dollars in capital, revolved around any definitive news about him, their fates hanging on his every move.

And just like that, the date was March 31st. 48 hours remained until the press conference.