Chapter 478: Give It a Go

In a flash, a myriad of thoughts emerged in Tobias' mind. Then he looked at Jenkins, who had shown his sincerity and determination to win since his debut today. He easily broke the balance with just a set of numbers. It was really amazing.

But Tobias still retained a shred of sanity.

He looked Jenkins up and down and smiled, "Is Li Na's retirement irreversible?"

This is the best explanation.

Otherwise, how could Nike be so eager and generous? For top giants like them, everything is just a business and a bunch of numbers. There is no such thing as passion and emotion.

Jenkins could guess that IMG agency would exchange information internally and cleverly use the information advantage to seize the initiative, so Tobias' quick reaction was expected.

He didn't panic, didn't admit or deny, just shrugged, "John, the focus should be on numbers. We have already shown our sincerity, and now it depends on Gawain's decision."

Strictly speaking, whether to accept this contract should be decided by Gawain. Jenkins' move is to hint to Tobias that Gawain should have no reason to refuse the figure of two million US dollars per year.

Unfortunately, Jenkins only knows one side of the story.

Indeed, the signing of the contract should be decided by the player, and the agent has the right to negotiate and make suggestions, but not the decision-making power; but Gao Wen's situation is special. Gao Wen trusts Tobias, and Jiang Yanyun and Gao Hongli and his wife also trust Gao Wen's judgment, which also means that Tobias holds the initiative and even the decision-making power.

But Tobias didn't wake up Jenkins, just smiled and said, "It's our honor."

Let’s get to the point here.

After Jenkins left, Tobias fell into deep thought, and then made a long-distance call to Eisenbud on the spot to communicate.

Objectively speaking, Nike offered a contract that could not be refused. If Tobias refused, he would be an idiot; but what is the job of an agent? To strive for more benefits and rights for the players, and at the same time to strive for more performance and credit for himself.

Think about it carefully, why has Nike always been able to sit back and relax?

Simply put, it is confidence.

In terms of superstars, they have Federer and Nadal; in terms of China, they have Li Na; in terms of the new generation, they have Dimitrov.

Look, those glittering highlights on Gao Wen are actually not what Nike needs most urgently. Naturally, they can sit back and watch the situation before deciding whether to add icing on the cake.

But things were different after the semi-finals.

The possibility of the "collapse of the Big Four era" has officially appeared on the table. This year, both the Australian Open and the US Open were lost, and the US Open went a step further to break the blockade of the Big Four entering 38 consecutive Grand Slam finals in the past decade. Federer lost to Cilic in three sets in the semi-finals, and went further to narrowly beat Monfils in the quarterfinals after losing two and winning three. Nadal will miss the defense due to injury. The situation seems to be unprecedentedly serious.

In the Chinese market, Li Na's retirement caught Nike off guard. Its originally steady plan to develop a comprehensive market layout was instantly overturned. After all, Li Na's current world ranking is still in the top five, and she just won her second Grand Slam at the beginning of the year. Nike's previous plans for the future were full of confidence and step-by-step, but now the situation has been directly overturned.

As for the new generation of young people, Raonic and Dimitrov have finally fought their way out, but at the US Open, the even younger Gawain has become a leader among the "post-90s" and other groups. This youth storm has further leveraged the market. Perhaps the "post-90s" have not had time to take over, and the "post-95s" are about to come, so Nike's market planning naturally needs to be adjusted accordingly.

One thing, two things, three things, one after another.

Just as Tobias thought, everything was leaning towards Gawain, and now looking at Nike's offer of a five-year contract worth two million dollars a year, it was still shocking, but not so outrageous or crazy.

“…Maybe, we can go a step further.”

Tobias said this while looking at Gawain in front of him.

Just now, Tobias briefly informed Gao Wen of Nike's offer, the current situation and his own judgment. No matter what, he still needed to seek Gao Wen's opinion. After all, the person who signed the contract was not Tobias but Gao Wen. Especially after the recent cooperation, Tobias knew that this was the correct way of cooperation.

Tobias was a little nervous. He knew he was taking a risk. Refusing to agree to Nike's incredible offer and then continue the negotiation was a very, very risky move. In fact, deep down, he was a little conflicted.

An angel said that he should be content and take the sky-high contract with Nike; but a devil said that he should gamble, as this could become a negotiation and cooperation that would subvert his career.

Tobias was unsure about the conflicting thoughts. Perhaps deep down, he also wanted to hear Gawain's thoughts and gain some confidence.

Gawain raised an eyebrow, then nodded in affirmation.

"Okay, I understand."

Although Tobias had expected such an outcome and was overjoyed and couldn't help but smile, he still asked curiously.

"Aren't you tempted? Aren't you worried that I'm too greedy?"

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"Of course I am tempted. That's a check for 10 million US dollars. To be honest, it's enough for me. There's no need to get more. But John, this is your expertise, not mine. I trust your judgment, and from your analysis, you know what you are doing, so it's natural for me to make the decision."

"Aren't you worried that I might overdo it and ruin the situation?"

"Haha, don't worry, at worst we can just break up. You know, I can always change my agent, I believe it shouldn't be too difficult now."

Tobias looked at Gawain, who had a serious face. He showed his white teeth after he finished speaking, as if he was discussing the weather with Tobias. This made Tobias' smile gradually stiffen and he shuddered. Then he saw Gawain patted his shoulder calmly and walked towards the fitness equipment with a smile.

Tobias stood on tiptoe and called out to Gawain's back.

"You were just kidding, right?"

"Gawain?"

“Is this a joke?”

But Gawain did not respond at all. He joined Sampras and entered the recovery training, leaving Tobias alone, grinning and muttering to himself. In order to avoid disturbing Gawain's training, he couldn't help but lower his voice, "This kid has to be joking."

That look made Sampras couldn't help laughing. He turned his back to Tobias with a gloating expression on his face and made faces with his teeth bared.

"Good job, little guy! Finally someone can give John a hard time."

(End of this chapter)