Not escaping the drama spiral, Kyrie Irving lost the biggest sponsor of her career

Over the past six weeks or so, Kyrie Irving's career has hit a new hurdle of his own making. He suddenly spoke out in support of a film with anti-Semitic content and caused a storm of reactions around the world.

Irving personally did not apologize and remained conservative with his opinion, which further disappointed fans. Many of Kyrie's colleagues in the NBA have voiced objections, arguing that he has crossed the line.

"Kyrie Irving has crossed the line, that's all," said Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

“He has made statements that we cannot agree with. After a short time of not finding a common voice, we decided to sever this relationship."

"This is the decision that has been made, and I feel it's the right thing to do," added Nike's current president.

Before this contract was cut, Kyrie Irving was one of the most important players in the Nike brand promotion star. He has had 9 models of signature shoes, along with many other low-cost shoe lines in a decade of association.

If you count the line of shoes with branded players, Nike Kyrie always stands in the best-selling group of The Swoosh of the year. This result is made possible by the affordable price of the Kyrie shoe line compared to other signature models.

Now everything will be forgotten. The launch of the latest generation of Kyrie shoes, the Nike Kyrie 8 has been cancelled.

A study by Sportico shows that Kyrie Irving pocketed about 11 million USD from Nike in 2021, ranking 3rd in terms of income from this brand. The Brooklyn Nets defender is just behind LeBron James with Kevin Durant, level with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

If you take a broader view of all the players who have their own shoes with big brands, Irving ranks 7th after the 3 names mentioned above and 3 more people including Stephen Curry (Under Armor), James Harden (adidas) and Zion Williamson (Jordan Brand).

After being terminated from Nike, Kyrie Irving will become a "freelance player" in the basketball shoe market. It is not yet clear whether he will sign a contract with another label.

And with what happened, including the story of not getting vaccinated or often having stormy statements, it is not excluded that many brands will also be wary of the star defender of the Brooklyn Nets.