How Brandon Jennings protects his $2mil grill

Not sure if I’m alone here, but I always find the smallest details of athletes fascinating, so when Brandon Jennings tweeted the type of mouthpiece he wears, I had to click to see the picture. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but I have to admit, they look pretty sweet. Under Armour is definitely trying to crack into every possible market for athletes, and they’ve done so with staggering success considering the likes of Nike, Adidas and Reebok they have to compete against.

As for Jennings, his story seems to match up well with UA’s: A young buck going against the grain. In September 2008, when Jennings decided to completely skip college to play professional basketball in Rome, he also signed a four-year, $2 million deal with Under Armour. The decision worked out for both. Jennings got some cash in case basketball overseas didn’t work out, and UA signed a young player with huge upside. The risk-reward for UA was definitely in their favor, and now they have a starting point guard and Rookie of the Year candidate signed to their brand for two more seasons, and for relatively little cash. Case in point, Nike reportedly just signed Tim Tebow to a deal worth about $300,000 a year, and he likely won’t even start. Who wants to buy shoes from someone riding the bench anyway?

While many weren’t sure how the decision would pan out for Jennings, he seems to be doing just fine in the NBA, though the stint overseas probably did hurt his draft stock some. No worries, he has reason to smile now, and the perfect mouthpiece to protect it.