Gilbert Arenas drops 4-word reaction as Colorado star Travis Hunter bags deal with $44.5B company 

Gilbert Arenas has a history with Adidas, after landing a five-year contract, losing it and being welcomed back into the fold. Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter has now signed an endorsement deal with the clothing giant, as he announced on Instagram this week.

"Agent Zero," who's also known for his wildly entertaining podcast "Gil's Arena," kept it simple when acknowledging Hunter's new deal with Adidas, which has a market cap of $44.5 billion as per Forbes. In an IG post by Complex Sneakers promoting an interview with the Colorado star, Arenas commented:

"Welcome to the family."

Gilbert Arenas welcomes Travis Hunter to Adidas. Image source: https://www.instagram.com/complexsneakers

Travis Hunter can learn from Gilbert Arenas' history with Adidas

Back in the early 2000s, Gilbert Arenas began his own partnership with Adidas. To say that it has been colorful would be an understatement. It all began in December 2003, when Arenas first signed an endorsement deal with the company.

At the time, the 6-foot-4 point guard was the reigning Most Improved Player; he'd gone from 10.3 points and 3.7 assists per game in his rookie year to 18.3 points and 6.3 assists a night the following season.

Fast forward to All-Star Weekend 2007, when Arenas—who was named an All-Star for the third year in a row— felt that he had leverage to negotiate a bigger contract. After playing some mind tricks on Adidas representatives (including 'manufacturing a grassroots movement' as per SI), Arenas was able to secure a new five-deal, $40 million deal.

This lucrative contract, however, went up in smoke when Arenas pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge stemming from a 2009 locker room incident. Hours after Arenas entered his guilty plea, Adidas terminated his contract.

Over a decade later, the two parties mended their fences and Adidas rereleased Gilbert Arenas' shoe line. In 2022, the Adidas Gil Zero was rebranded as the Adidas Agent Gil Restomod. As it turned out, all's well that ends well for Arenas and Adidas.

As Travis Hunter gears up for a highly promising pro career, he can take Arenas' story into consideration and ensure that he doesn't fall into similar pitfalls as an athlete and as a man.

The good news is, the Heisman Trophy favorite knows what he's walking into as he enters the Adidas camp.

"Growing up as a kid, having all the shoes and the clothes and stuff, I always wanted to be a part of a brand that brings the whole family together," Hunter said in an interview with Complex. "It felt like a family when I first met 'em, so that definitely helped to make my decision."

Letting his new family down sounds like the last thing on Hunter's mind. Great things are certainly on the horizon for the projected top-five pick and the newest Adidas endorser.