Adidas Terminated Terry Rozier's Contract for Wearing Nikes During a Shootaround

Terry Rozier signed an endorsement deal with Adidas in 2016, but it was terminated in 2017.

Celtics guard Terry Rozier used to wear Adidas sneakers in games, but this season he has been wearing Nikes.

Rozier has made this move because Adidas terminated the deal he signed with them in 2016 after last season's Eastern Conference Finals.

In a new story from Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim on Derrick Rose's Adidas contract, he explained how Rozier's endorsement deal with Adidas came to an end.

From Wertheim:

Adidas’s treatment of Rose is especially perplexing given how closely the company has held other players to the letter of their contracts. On Jan. 18, 2016, Celtics guard Terry Rozier signed a deal that, according to documents provided to SI, guaranteed him $300,000 over three seasons. 

During the 2017 Eastern Conference finals, Rozier wore Nikes during a pregame shootaround. He changed into Adidas shoes for the game, but his public appearance in a rival brand did not escape notice. In a letter delivered by FedEx last May 26, Adidas’s legal counsel Monique Hawthorne notified Rozier, “Adidas is terminating your Agreement effective immediately.” (According to Rozier’s representatives, they plan to arbitrate Adidas’s decision.)

• Derrick Rose's Adidas Contract: Breaking Down the Strange Terms

Rozier is in his third season in the NBA after being drafted No. 16 by Boston in 2015. This season he is averaging 9.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists for the Celtics.