This thing costs more than $500 after tax.
On Thursday, Lonzo Ball unveiled his first signature shoe through his family’s Big Baller Brand.
If you were thinking “This new company will surely launch with a reasonably priced offering in order to try and gain market share in this incredibly cutthroat field”, then you wouldn’t be thinking like LaVar Ball.
Instead, the shoe, which is called the ZO2, will be priced at $495.
For that price, you can rent this apartment in Iowa (which includes free utilities) and still have money for dinner.
That cost does jump to $695 if you wear a size 14 or above. They also offer a $995 package ($1,195 for size 14 and up) which includes a signed version of the shoe in a ridiculous display case.
Not sold yet? I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the $495 offering includes a “microfiber python texture” in matte black and a “Delorean finish” — which certainly sounds cool, as made up words go.
The $495 pricetag marks the highest asking price of any standard basketball shoe on the market today.
This all came to be after Under Armour, Nike and Adidas passed on Lonzo Ball last week, largely because LaVar was demanding that a licensing agreement for Big Baller Brand shoes be included in any deal.
“We said from the beginning, we aren’t looking for an endorsement deal,” Ball said last week. “We’re looking for co-branding, a true partner. But they’re not ready for that because they’re not used to that model. But hey, the taxi industry wasn’t ready for Uber either.”
If you don’t have $500 bucks to spend on shoes and still want to be a true “Big Baller”, you can always pick up a pair of their sandals.
For only $220.
Shoes will be shipped sometime around the end of November and all sales are final.
I know that objectivity is paramount in reporting, but I simply can’t wait to see what a colossal failure this is going to be.
