Philadelphia 76ers Star Joel Embiid Signs with Under Armour

Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid has signed an endorsement deal with Under Amour. The deal is for five years, according to ESPN, and its value is expected to make Embiid the highest paid center in the NBA.

Embiid penned a long essay on Under Armour’s website about why he decided to sign with the Baltimore apparel and shoe company. He detailed his childhood in Cameroon, the death of his 13-year-old brother, and how he wants to honor his brother’s passion of helping out those in need. Under Armour and Embiid have agreed to make this deal “much bigger than basketball.” From the essay:

When I sat down with Under Armour, one of the first things we talked about was how this can be bigger than just shoes, bigger than just basketball. I want to help change people’s lives like Luc changed my life.

Basketball has given me everything, but it has to be bigger than basketball. That was the first thing that I said to Under Armour, and they were behind it 100 percent. This isn’t about a shoe deal. I mean, listen … I’m gonna make sure they design some shoes as pretty as I am. Don’t worry about that. We’re gonna take care of that.

But this is bigger than that. I want to use this partnership to do something real. I want to do something that would make my brother proud. 

And I want to start in Philly. 

When you come to America from Africa, you almost expect that everything is going to be perfect. You expect that most people have an easy life. But when I came to Philly, I saw that there’s real poverty here, too. There’s a real struggle, too. 

This city has stood by me through all the injuries and all the pain. For years. Honestly, when I came back after being injured for two years, I thought I was going to get booed when I ran out of the tunnel. I literally thought y’all were gonna boo me out of the building. 

But I didn’t get booed. And then when I scored my first bucket, the whole building cheered for me. That helped me a lot. People say crazy things about Philly, and some of them are kinda true, but the whole city has been behind me from Day 1. (OK, LOL maybe Day 2.)

Ya’ll trusted The Process. Y’all have had my back. Now I’m gonna do my best to have your back. I’m going to be working on some big things with Under Armour. I got a few surprises coming for the Philly community, and for the rest of the world. 

The sqUAd is on point. Stay tuned. We’re going to make this bigger than basketball. 

Embiid is entering his fourth NBA season, but sat out his rookie year with an injury. Last year he averaged 22.0 points per game, 11 rebounds per game, 3.2 assists per game, and 1.8 blocks per game, and was named a stater in the NBA All-Star Game.

Embiid played college basketball at Kansas and plays for the Cameroon national basketball team.

Photo from Under Armour

About the Author: Kevin Lynch

Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.