John Amaechi to promote HeadBlade
March 15th, 2007
John Amaechi, former NBA player, became the first openly gay male athlete to snag an endorsement deal with a mainstream company. Tapped to promote HeadBlade Inc, creators of head-shaving gear, Amaechi signed a multiyear deal for an undisclosed amount.In February, with the release of his memoir, “Man in the Middle”, which is on the New York Times Best Seller List, Amaechi became the first NBA player to acknowledge his homosexuality. It is well known that sport stars try to keep their sexual preference a secret to avoid losing potential endorsement deals.
Amaechi gained fame for scoring the first NBA points of the new millennium and for turning down a $17 millions contract offer from the L.A. Lakers in 2000 choosing instead to return to play for the Orlando Magic for $600,000 instead. He played for the Utah Jazz from 2001 - 2003 and then was traded to the Houston Rockets.
John Amaechi is also an official spokesperson for the Human Rights Coming Out Project.
