As he suffered, so too did Adidas, whose investment has failed to reap the rewards the company was hoping for. Rose will get paid regardless, but Adidas may soon be forking out cash to an unwanted NBA reject.
The 29-year-old was one of a host of stars to be traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday as the Cavs shredded their roster. General manager Koby Altman traded six players including Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade and Rose, and two future draft picks in moves designed to not only help them in the short term but potentially help keep LeBron James beyond this season.
Just like that, nearly half the Cleveland roster was out the door.
Rose was shafted to the Utah Jazz as it picked him up in a three-team trade with the Cavs and Sacramento Kings. But Utah has since waived him, it was revealed on Sunday.
The Jazz are sitting 10th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference yet still don't want the help of a man who was the 2008 No. 1 draft pick and a three-time All Star.
ESPN reports Washington may be interested in securing Rose's services but for now he's out of a gig. It's a sad indication of just how far Rose has fallen, adding to Adidas' pain over its $243 million gamble gone wrong.
Rose has started just seven times in 16 outings in his first season with Cleveland since joining from the New York Knicks, where his stint lasted the solitary campaign. He's been hampered by an ankle injury that at one point last year reportedly led him to consider retirement.
Rose's steady decline has seen him average a career-low 9.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in his 10th NBA season. Those are hardly the figures of someone Adidas is in line to pay $AUD14 million in 2018, per their original agreement.
As explained by Jon Wertheim in a piece for Sports Illustrated, the Adidas deal Rose signed in 2012 is still paying off to the point where family and friends are getting a slice of the pie that is as fat as ever despite his career slide (all figures are in US dollars).
"The deal called for annual retainers of $12 million per season from 2012-13 until 2016-17 (this season, he is entitled to $11 million)," Wertheim wrote. "It also included annual royalties of up to $6.25 million per year, as much as $4.8 million in annual appearance fees and use of a private plane.
"Reggie Rose, Derrick's older brother, is paid between $250,000 and $300,000 annually as a consultant. Randall Hampton, Rose's best friend since sixth grade and his assistant, is paid between $50,000 and $75,000 annually for 'consulting' services.
"Adidas also pledged to contribute $150,000 annually to the AAU team of Rose's choice."
So despite the 29-year-old being a shell of the player he once was Adidas continues to fork out million of dollars a year to the 2009 Rookie of the Year.
The US sports media reacted with dismay to the specifics of Rose's contract details. For The Win called Rose's contract details "mind-boggling" and maintained "the trajectory of his career has been a nightmare for Adidas", while SB Nation's Michael D. Sykes wrote: "Rose has been hurt and Adidas is paying for it."
Just months after inking his lucrative Adidas contract a torn ACL kept the then-Chicago Bulls star out of the 2012/13 season while further knee injuries have effectively ruined Rose's career. The last of his All Star selections came in 2012.
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