After being selected fourth overall in the 2021 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever just two weeks ago, former WVU standout Kysre Gondrezick has signed multi-year shoe deal with Adidas.
First reported by ESPN’s Nick DePaula on Twitter, Gondrezick is expected to be “the face of the next generation of Adidas Basketball.”
BREAKING: Indiana Fever guard Kysre Gondrezick has signed a lucrative, multi-year shoe deal with Adidas. @KysreRae is expected to take a lead role as the face of the next generation of Adidas Basketball. pic.twitter.com/NwuSFGhWJl
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) April 30, 2021
“I’m super excited,” Gondrezick said. “It was the best deal for me now and longterm.”
For Gondrezick, her partnership with the popular shoe empire began before she was even drafted.
“Right after I got drafted, everybody was calling me,” Gondrezick stated. “Nike, Jordan, and so I allowed my team to handle it, and kind of bring to me what they thought would be the best fit. It was my decision to say yes or no [but] one thing that I liked about Adidas the best was that they contacted me before the draft, and I’m huge on loyalty. So, the fact that they were there before all the hoopla came, I definitely took that into consideration.”
Gondrezick joins an Adidas family that includes her fellow Fever teammates, Lauren Cox, Julie Allemand and Danielle Robinson. Plus, other WNBA players such as Layshia Clarendon, Chiney Ogumike, Nneka Ogwumike, Liz Cambage, and Candace Parker, who actually signed with Adidas back in 2008 of her rookie year and has since stayed with the three stripes and built a family type of partnership.
In Gondrezick’s case she hopes to do the same and more, including cultivating a different narrative for the next generation of female athletes.
“You’re always representing much more than yourself,” Grondrezick replied. “[In signing this deal], I was more so focused on setting the bar and the standard for the next generation and hopefully changing the narrative a little bit. To show that women in our sport deserve to be recognized, to be paid and to be a part of an organization that believes in their vision. So, I’m just going to make sure I try to do my best to be able to uphold that deal and cultivate a different narrative for the next girls that are coming up.”