Maine basketball phenom Cooper Flagg inks endorsement deal with New Balance

Photo / Provided, New Balance Cooper Flagg is shown in a promotional photo from New Balance, reading fictitious news coverage of his endorsement deal.

Write a Comment

By William Hall

Like lots of 17-year-old Mainers, he's starting college this week. But it's safe to say Newport native Cooper Flagg is the only freshman also reading a freshly inked global business contract that could get a sneaker named after him.

Flagg — once a star basketball player at Nokomis Regional High School in his hometown, now widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the next NBA draft — has signed on as a brand representative of New Balance Athletics, the company announced Monday. Terms were not disclosed.

The 6-foot-9 power forward’s "dominant style of play and special connection to the brand makes him the perfect addition to the New Balance family to inspire the next generation of athletes," the Boston-based company said in a news release.

“Cooper adds so much to our basketball roster, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the New Balance family,” added Naveen Lokesh, New Balance head of basketball sports marketing. “He is a force to be reckoned with on the court, and we look forward to building our relationship as he grows the game and supporting him in all his endeavors.”

Landing the endorsement deal is the latest success for Flagg, who's at Duke University in North Carolina and will play for the Duke Blue Devils, traditionally one of the country's top-ranked men's college basketball teams. Classes at Duke began Monday, but Flagg enrolled in June in order to practice with the team.

Earlier this year, Flagg was among the 15 athletes named to the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s Select Team, which trained with the men's national team as they prepped for gold in the Paris Olympics. He was the only teenager and first collegiate player to be selected since 2013.

He's also won numerous national honors during his high school career at Nokomis and then Montverde Academy in Florida, including being named to the McDonald's All-American team and in March becoming the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

Flagg grew up 25 miles east of the New Balance factory in Skowhegan, and said his mom took him to the company's annual tent sale there to buy a pair of shoes and a backpack for school each year.

“I grew up wearing New Balance, and I appreciate their authentic connection to my community. The focus and growth of the brand in basketball and our shared values and history drew me in. From day one, it was clear that this would be a family-like partnership. I’m so excited to join this family and help them grow the category with young athletes,” he said in the news release.

In addition to featuring in New Balance basketball marketing campaigns, the company said, Flagg will also work with the brand across lifestyle promotions and community initiatives, focusing on programs that help young athletes.

While the value of the New Balance agreement isn't public, a Maine sports marketing expert has a rough idea of what it could be worth, based on "name-image-likeness" deals for other high-profile athletes.

"It is hard to project the amount of the deal without seeing what the contract includes for deliverables and terms, but it could be in the range of between $2 million to $8 million per year or more," said Greg Glynn, founder of Pliable, an Augusta-based sports marketing firm that currently represents 35 athletes across the U.S.

"New Balance was smart to use their Maine roots to their advantage. Cooper mentioned in the press release that mattered to him, which makes this a meaningful partnership," Glynn told Mainebiz.

"This NIL partnership is great for Maine because it showcases the high level of athletes we have in the state and that companies in Maine and New England should leverage NIL [agreements] to support athletes."

New Balance employs 9,000 people worldwide, including about 780 in Maine, and had sales last year of $6.5 billion. The company owns five athletic footwear factories in New England, three of which are in Maine. Last month, New Balance announced that it will close its Norridgewock plant by next spring, moving operations there to the newly expanded facility in Skowhegan. There's also a New Balance factory in Norway.