James Harden to join adidas after Nike declines to match 13-year, $200M offer

James Harden is taking his marketable talents (and recognizable beard, and cooking celebration) to adidas.

The German apparel company officially filched the Houston Rockets star from Nike on Thursday, when Nike declined to match the mammoth 13-year, $200-million contract adidas offered him earlier this month.

"We're a brand of creators and James embodies that more than any athlete in the game," adidas global basketball general manager Chris Grancio said in a statement. "His addition to the adidas basketball family is a game changer. This partnership gives him the opportunity to achieve his goals and express himself in a totally new way as a creator."

Having passed on Steph Curry a few months ago, allowing him to sign with Under Armour, Nike has let the NBA's top two MVP vote-getters from last season slip away.

Adidas' deal with Harden, which will take effect on Oct. 1, will include a signature shoe - something he never had with Nike - along with an apparel line, and other "branded marketing commitments," according to ESPN's Darren Rovell.

Here's more from Rovell on why adidas needed to lock up Harden:

Adidas has been struggling in the United States. Last year, Under Armour passed the company as the second largest apparel seller behind Nike, and Adidas has less than a 3 percent share of U.S. basketball shoe sales compared to Nike's more than 90 percent, according to market retail tracking firm, SportsScanInfo. In the first six months of 2015, Adidas sold fewer shoes in the U.S. than Skechers and New Balance.

Harden's deal is also reportedly incentive-laden, and could increase in value if he hits certain benchmarks.