Football singularity

Chapter 267 267 Pen To Paper

The week went by rather quickly as Rakim got back into his routine with the added assistance of his mother. She decided to stay for a while making sure he completed his classes and hammer out the deal for the TitanFit line. Lisa mostly oversaw his extra training only occasionally visiting the Lennoxtown training centre.

Rakim had to actually pay attention during his classes for once and couldn't just half-ass it like he'd been doing. Keeping a B+ average in subjects like Advanced Higher accounting and Spanish wasn't that hard for him but that wasn't deemed good enough by his Mom.

In other news, he's been dealing with reporters and wanna-be bloggers trying to get a quote out of him. The constant buzz of activity kept Rakim on his toes, but he found a certain rhythm in it all. His days were a balancing act of morning training sessions, followed by classes, and Team training sessions.

It wasn't all work as he spent some of his time sightseeing and attending different meetings with his mother. Most of them were related to the TitanFit line as he worked with some of the design team to create some gear. He designed a few ideas for compression shirts and bottoms that he could see himself wearing in games and workouts.

With the added pressure from this, he felt like he was juggling the responsibilities of a rising football star and a student for the first time since his debut. On the 15th of March, Lisa finalised the deal with the people at Rex Fashion & Sport.

They settled on a 4-year deal with $50,000 as a signing fee added with a 4% share on products sold. This would require Rakim to actively promote new TitanFit products and refrain from bad-mouthing other company products. Photoshoots, advertising videos, and social media promotions were also included in the deal.

"Shall we sign the contract?" A well-dressed man in a navy suit told the mother and son pair after they finished their discussion. Due to the importance of this new line they had brought a team to hold a presentation to convey their intention for this deal to Rakim.

Seeing how much effort they put into this project and the care put into it put Rakim's mind at ease. His father's company was the equivalent of a retail store for sneakers, kits & clothes, and sporting goods. The launching of their own line of products was a big deal for them and they wanted it to be perfect.

Apart from Rakim, they had also signed comprehensive sponsorship deals with fitness influencers. The idea was to create quality but stylish products and get the product out there. Feeling assured with the plan Rakim didn't hesitate in picking up the pen and signed his name. His mother co-signed the deal as his legal guardian bringing it into effect.

"Happy cooperation," Felix the man responsible for this new line stated with a smile reaching out his hand out for a handshake. "Yes Happy cooperation," Rakim intoned standing up from his chair and shaking his hand.

They proceeded to take a few pictures together with the entire 4 people team who had made the trip over. One of the pictures was taken between Rakim and Felix holding up a Red Kit with the name Rex boldly printed on it. The kit number read 2023 indicating the number of years the deal would last.

They took a picture of just Rakim signing the contract making sure none of the details were legible for promotion purposes. With speculations of which team he would join at the end of the season ramping up, they would use this to create buzz for the new line.

"With the signing out of the way, we should discuss the release schedule for the launch of the line." Briana a smartly dressed African American woman in her mid-forties stated the moment they finished taking all the pictures for publicity. "We have organised a cater so feel free to grab a bite," she continued motioning for one of her colleagues to call in the prepared caterer who brought in two metal trolleys.

On one of the trolleys were two large baguettes made up of different sections of toppings. From a BLT, BMT, Ham & Cheese, Salami, cheese and so on. The second tray held different bottles of organic juices and a warm pot of chicken soup.

"Were you still gonna feed us if the deal didn't go through," Rakim questioned her with a slight smile as that was the first thing that popped into his head the moment he saw the tasty spread.

His question caused a thoughtful silence in the room as Briana seemed to be genuinely considering the question. "We probably would have still fed you it would have just been a more awkward lunch." She responded in a joking tone matching his light-hearted tone. Since they had already signed the deal the tension was gone and they were all on the same side.

"Don't listen to her, you would have been lucky to receive food that wasn't laced without chilli pepper," Jack a younger guy in his thirties joked quickly receiving a glare from his boss. Despite being her assistant their relationship was more that of a younger brother and older sister.

"Don't worry about them grab a bite to eat before we continue our discussion," Felix told the mother and son duo with a shake of his head as he motioned for the platter set up behind them.

Rakim and Lisa exchanged amused glances before heading over to the spread. The atmosphere in the room had lightened considerably, the earlier tension of negotiations giving way to a more relaxed, almost celebratory mood. Rakim grabbed a plate and began loading it up with a selection of the cut-up baguette sections. He settled for a BMT and pepperoni piece before picking up an organic orange juice. Lisa followed suit, opting for a lighter meal with a bowl of chicken soup and some fruit.

As they sat down to eat, Rakim couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. The deal would be his first as a professional player and the start of building his brand. The fact it was mutually beneficial to his family's business was just an added bonus. It was a new kind of responsibility, that would see him become the face of their company, but he was eager to take on the challenge.

"So, about the release schedule," Briana began, once everyone had settled with their food. She pulled out a sleek tablet and began scrolling through what Rakim assumed was the timeline for the product launch. "We're aiming to start with a soft promotional launch 1st of April right before the summer. This will include a drop of limited-edition compression shirts, arms sleeves and bottoms with the finalised design, along with a few other items."

Felix chimed in, his tone enthusiastic. "The goal is to build anticipation leading up to the full launch in early May, where we'll unveil the complete TitanFit line. This will coincide with a major marketing push across all platforms on social media, online ads, and in-store promotions."

"The Idea for the April Fools launch is to keep your fan base guessing whether the deal is actually real. This will make the limited edition 5,000 of the products that much more special. We would also like to organise a one-of-a-kind gear where we will only produce 100 of them." Jack Briana's assistant chimed in a much more professional tone his earlier joking disappearing.

"These 100 products will be complimentarily added to the orders of from customers giving them a chance at a meet and greet with you," Briana added with an excited tone explaining how those who received one of the 100 products will be invited to one one of his matches and the launch event in May travel and board covered by the company.

"I Know what the 100 complimentarily product should be," Rakim suddenly told them after they had finished explaining the Idea behind them. His words caught everyone by surprise as they had been worried whether the 15-year-old could keep up.

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To Be Continued...