Derrick Rose

The Chicago Bulls are still having a pretty good season, even without their star guard. Rose tore his ACL about a month after Ricky Rubio last year. He says he's not ready to come back and that he WON'T come back until he's "110%."

I'm not doubting that he's still injured. In fact he says he still can't jump explosively off of his leg and dunk the ball. I'm just starting to realize, though,  that he doesn't have much of an incentive to come back and play.

Let me explain.

It's Michael Jordan's 50th birthday this week and I've been seeing and reading about how much he has "changed the game." And not just ON the court. Michael was the first basketball player to sign a shoe contract with an athletic shoe company. He STILL makes more money from his endorsements than he ever made playing the game.

LAST year, Nike sold over a BILLION dollars worth of Jordan's branded gear. They have 20 full-time shoe designers working on just his shoes alone. And they release several different new shoes every year with his name on them.

Michael started that trend and other players today are benefiting from his lead.

Flash forward to Derrick Rose. Derrick has a 7 year $95 million guaranteed contract with the Bulls. It's certainly nothing to sneeze at. BUT it is just a pittance compared to the $215 million deal he has with Adidas to endorse their shoes. It's NOT guaranteed. IF he doesn't perform WELL, or if he has some bad seasons, they can cancel his contract (or at the very least reduce what they pay him.)

In other words, he may stay OFF the playing court a while longer simply because there is more money in it for him to do so. And that's not talking about his OTHER similar merchandise deals.

Bulls fans are anxiously awaiting Rose' return. He's going to take it a bit more slowly, though. There's a good chance they won't see him until next season. There's an awful lot of money at stake, and Adidas might now be the tail wagging the dog.