LaVar Ball inks autograph deal with trading cards selling for $59.95
— -- LaVar Ball isn't an active baller, but he did just sign an autograph deal.
The brash, outspoken father of NBA draft prospect Lonzo Ball signed 200 cards with his name and face on them for Leaf Trading Cards. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This wasn't all about the money," said Ball, who signed the cards at his California home Friday. "I think it's cool to have a card."
The cards were sold Wednesday on eBay, starting at 1 p.m. ET, at a fixed price of $59.95, said Leaf CEO Brian Gray. The cards sold out by 1:01 p.m.
Each card is inscribed with one of Ball's sayings, such as "$495 ain't enough," and "If you can't afford the ZO2's, you're not a big baller," a reference to his son's signature shoe price. Another card says "$1 billion was a discount," referencing his demands of the shoe companies, who turned down his overtures to create a partnership with the company he created.
When a person clicks to buy a card, he or she did not know which phrase it features.
Perhaps the most sought-after cards will bear the sayings, "Lonzo better than Steph Curry!" and "Stick to the donuts, Chuck!" a shot at NBA Hall of Famer and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley, who has ripped Ball in the past.
"The fact is that LaVar Ball is a significant pop culture icon," Gray said. "My job is to create a collectible element for personalities like him. We'll now see if the market is real, not based on what people will pay to first buy them, but what they will resell them for."
The deal was negotiated by Matt Palmer and James Sullivan of 11Media Group in Las Vegas.
Ball said he has sold more than 500 pairs of the ZO2 shoes, but expects sales to pick up more due to a looming deadline.
The preorder window will end on June 22, the night of the NBA draft, for consumers who want to get the shoes by the promised Nov. 24 arrival date. Ball said he believes the urgency will lead to more sales.
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