Nearly every prominent NBA player has a sneaker deal with a major supplier — Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, etc. Jaylen Brown chose a different path.
This season, the Celtics star will wear a new signature shoe designed and produced by his own newly launched performance brand, 741. He’s rocked the sneaker — officially called the 741 Performance Rover — in black and gray colorways during Celtics training camp and plans to distribute pairs to several NBA and college players once it’s released to the public next month.
Brown, who wore Adidas for the first several years of his career, knows he can’t guarantee 741 will have staying power. But he hopes his decision to stray from the traditional path — which, according to a press release, involved turning down more than $50 million in endorsement offers from major footwear companies — inspires other athletes to do the same in the future.
“Honestly, boredom,” Brown replied Friday when asked why he wanted to start his own sneaker brand. “It would be great for it to be successful. But even if it’s not, who cares? I’m just kind of tired of seeing the same old things, the deals constructed the same way. So hopefully in the next 20 years, even if this isn’t super successful, that it sparks other athletes, other creators to have the courage to start to build stuff on their own.
“I plan on sharing my story, how much resources it took, the ins and outs of everything that I’ve gone through. Maybe turn it into a documentary or something like that. But honestly, just to be a catalyst to what I want the future to look like — more brands, more creativity, rather than these just major corporations just maintaining. That’s what I want to see.”
Brown has publicly feuded with Nike in the past, which he believes led to him being left off the latest U.S. Olympic team. But he said he doesn’t have any issue with players who chose to ink deals with the big-name brands.
“If that’s the route you want to go, I salute that,” the NBA Finals MVP said. “My whole ideology is being able to create other options. There’s a lot of guys who feel like they want to do other things and they’re afraid or don’t know how. And as a Players Association rep, I listen to them. I listen to guys’ stories as they get older, and I listen to guys’ stories as they transition through their careers and wish they had other options.
“So a solution for me was to use my platform and create for those and spark others and show them how, exactly, you can do it. But some people may choose to still go with those major corporations or sign with a major agency because that’s what they feel is right for them, I salute that. I don’t have an issue with that. But if you want another option, I want to provide that for you as well.”
The launch of 741 was one of several offseason endeavors for Brown, who also recorded a track with rapper FERG called “Just Do It.” Amid those off-the-court pursuits, the 27-year-old said he followed a “very strict routine” of workouts and nutrition, and he added a noticeable amount of muscle to his frame during the lead-up to training camp.
“I put on some muscle coming back last year, and it paid off for me just by being healthier, not having too many injuries, by protecting my ligaments and my joints,” Brown said. “And then just having an extra gear when it came to the playoffs. I was able to still play 70 games, pick up guys full-court, play both sides of the ball with intensity and maintained it all the way through the playoffs, all the way through the Finals.
“I like that feeling, so [I] just added to it and I did more to get myself in even better shape so I can be prepared for another late postseason run.”
