Duke freshman forward Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, has signed a deal with New Balance, the apparel company announced Monday.

The deal — which was first reported by ESPN — will make Flagg one of New Balance’s signature athletes, likely including a signature shoe. Flagg joins Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray and WNBA rookie Cameron Brink as one of New Balance’s basketball headliners.

“I grew up wearing New Balance, and I appreciate their authentic connection to my community. The focus and growth of the brand in basketball and our shared values and history drew me in,” Flagg said in a statement. “From day one, it was clear that this would be a family-like partnership. I’m so excited to join this family and help them grow the category with young athletes.”

Cooper Flagg, The Intelligent Choice. pic.twitter.com/JvvvMM9lfm

— New Balance (@newbalance) August 26, 2024

Choosing New Balance wasn’t just a professional decision for Flagg, but a personal one, too: the reigning Gatorade National Player of the Year and five-star recruit grew up just 25 miles from New Balance’s manufacturing plant in Skowhegan, Maine.

Before every new school year, Flagg’s mother Kelly took him and his twin brother Ace to the factory’s annual tent sale, where they’d buy a new pair of sneakers and backpack. To promote Monday’s announcement, the company even shot promotional content with Flagg in his hometown of Newport, Maine.

“Cooper adds so much to our basketball roster, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the New Balance family,” Naveen Lokesh, New Balance’s head of basketball sports marketing, said in a statement. “He is a force to be reckoned with on the court, and we look forward to building our relationship as he grows the game and supporting him in all endeavors.”

Before last season, Connecticut women’s star Paige Bueckers became the first college athlete with their own signature shoe deal, after she signed an NIL contract with Nike. Now Flagg is the second, despite not having played a single minute for the Blue Devils.

While some college athletes have partnered with apparel companies in the NIL era — Adidas signed 15 female collegians in the summer of 2022, for example, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Title IX — it is still a relative rarity earmarked for sports’ top rising stars.

Flagg fits that mold, even if he’s yet to appear in college. Despite reclassifying up to 2024, the 6-foot-9 forward maintained the No. 1 recruiting ranking in the class, and is expected to lead Duke in Jon Scheyer’s third season as head coach. Duke is No. 6 in The Athletic’s preseason top-25 rankings.

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(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Babe Ruth’s New York Yankees jersey from his supposed “called shot” home run in the 1932 World Series has sold for $24 million, cementing its place as the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia.

Sunday’s record sale by Heritage Auctions further hypes the lore around that day 92 years ago at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where — as the legend goes — Ruth pointed to center field before his next pitch, calling the placement of his next home run. There’s no question that the Bambino hit a homer off Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root on his next swing, but repeated analysis and reviews of that moment have called into question the historical accuracy of the “called shot,” with many concluding it likely didn’t happen that way.

Still, the story looms large, and after a six-hour bidding war, Ruth’s jersey sold for $24.21 million — almost double the previous record for the most expensive sports collectible, according to Heritage Auctions, which auctioned off the piece. That standing had been held since August 2022, when a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for $12.6 million.

Heritage auctioneers said the Ruth jersey was “photo-matched” by several third parties, using multiple photos from that day on Oct. 1, 1932, including one from the Chicago Daily News, which showed Ruth with Lou Gehrig in the Wrigley Field dugout.

The new owner of the jersey, who was not identified, purchased “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia ever offered at auction,” Chris Ivy, the director of sports for Heritage, said in a statement.

Years after he retired from baseball in 1935, Ruth gifted his jersey to a golf friend in Florida, where it remained in that family’s possession until the 1990s, when a sports auctioneer bought the jersey, Heritage officials said. It was later auctioned off in 2005 for $940,000 and had remained in a private collection until this past weekend.

As the legend goes, Ruth was indignant in the face of angry Cubs fans and players, gesturing toward center field during his fifth-inning at-bat, already down two strikes — then hit a home run where he had indicated.

But a 1995 Times article detailed a recent review of the evidence from that day, and found little indication that it occurred as the tale has perpetuated, calling it “the baseball legend that won’t die.”

The analysis, which included grainy film from the third game of the 1932 World Series, testimony from other nearby players and even private comments from Ruth, found that he did make some sort of gesture before hitting one of his two home runs that day, but it wasn’t the location for his next homer.

Some say he was possibly egging on the pitcher or responding to the home team’s rowdy dugout — but some are insistent he was gesturing toward center.

And so, the allure remains.

“It is clear by the strong auction participation and record price achieved that astute collectors have no doubt as to what this Ruth jersey is and what it represents,” Ivy said. “The legend of Babe Ruth and the myth and mystery surrounding his ‘called shot’ are united in this one extraordinary artifact.”

The Juan Soto trade has worked out brilliantly for the New York Yankees.

The young superstar is hitting .299 with a 1.034 OPS and has already reached a career high in home runs with 37. Additionally, he is on pace to set a career mark in runs scored, as well as he has 108 already this season. The Yankees have maintained a slim American League East lead over the Baltimore Orioles – thanks to Soto.

As he was a part of a home run barrage against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, fans in the Bronx showered him with cheers and pleas to the organization itself.

“Please sign Soto,” the Yankees’ faithful yelled.

The Yankees and Soto have expressed their desire to keeping the outfielder in pinstripes for the long term. However, the front office will certainly have to break the bank for that to happen.

Soto appeared to be happy with the support as he told reporters to direct their calls to general manager Brian Cashman.

New York Yankees’ Juan Soto runs the bases after hitting a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024 in New York City. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

GIANCARLO STANTON’S BROKEN BAT HITS UMPIRE IN HEAD, KNOCKS HIM OUT OF GAME IN BIZARRE SCENE

“I don’t know. They have to talk to Cashman,” he said.

Soto turned down a 15-year, $440 million extension offer from the Washington Nationals in 2022, MLB.com noted. It led to Soto being traded to the San Diego Padres and later to the Yankees.

MLB.com, citing industry sources, reported that a Soto deal could exceed $500 million in the offseason.

Juan Soto, #22 of the New York Yankees, celebrates his solo home run in the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Aug. 13, 2024 in Chicago. (Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Soto is only 25 years old and keeping him in the Bronx would ensure a big bat in the heart of their lineup for years to come.

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