[mbesto]

> Existing affiliate programs are broken and a UX that caters to that category is important for adoption.

But if they pass 100% commission to the affiliate, who is their customer then?

> The real money will come in when you start seeing Shaq's tweets with referly links.

Why would Shaq replace generating referral links with a guaranteed salary from Adidas. Let's say Shaq gets x% for every shoe he successfully refers. All of the sudden, you start noticing that after every game, Shaq sends a tweet "Great game tonight, all thanks to my new Adidas <Insert Cool Shoe Name>"...Every...single...game. Do you think his fans are going to appreciate that?

Also, a lot of athletes and high profile personalities act like CEO's for their brand. They simply hire a head of sales (usually a PR person and/or agent) and say "make me money". They can't be bothered because it's not their core competency to negotiate their worth.

Note - I realize Shaq doesn't play anymore and isn't sponsored by Adidas.