San Antonio brewery offers Kawhi Leonard 'free pizza and beer for life' if he stays
Kawhi Leonard’s future on the San Antonio Spurs didn’t get any more certain on Tuesday, when reports from ESPN and the San Antonio Express-News provided some clarity about why the two sides are disconnected. But the good people of south central Texas are less concerned with the drama that has suddenly befallen their esteemed franchise than they are with keeping their superstar in town.
And what better way to keep Leonard happy in San Antonio than to offer free beer and pizza for life? Local purveyor Freetail Brewing Company pledged both to Leonard if he returns to the Spurs.
All the feels. pic.twitter.com/stzpFaY7yJ
— freetailbrewing (@freetailbrewing) April 25, 2018
The terms:
“We know things have kinda been weird this season. Lots of rumors, finger pointing, questioning loyalty and whatnot.
“But the truth is, we really, really, really want things to go back to how they used to be. You know, how we never freaked out because you didn’t talk much? Or how we never questioned the silence or think that it was a sign that something was wrong?
“So here’s the deal. Let’s just forget about this past season. We want you back, and to prove it we’ll give you free pizza and beer for life. No joke.”
The offer — one that has been extended to Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge during past contract discussions — stands if Leonard stays “next season and beyond,” local reports said. For the record, Duncan and Aldridge never took them up on it, and it’s been on the table for Leonard for a week.
“This past season was really awkward,” Freetail founder Scott Metzger told the San Antonio Business Journal. “It’s just been very un-Spurs-like to have this level of drama with the team, given their long history of professionalism and ability to avoid some of the things most other teams deal with regularly. …
“We felt that it was time for everyone to take a deep breath and chill out a bit. While he might not take us up on the offer, we just want Kawhi to know we really love our team and that we understand what he and his teammates mean to the continued success of the Spurs.”
Last we heard from Leonard, he “for sure” wanted to stay in San Antonio longterm, although rumors are growing louder about his interest in playing for a larger media market like Los Angeles, New York or Philadelphia, where the marketing benefits of superstardom are greater. He is under contract next season and eligible for a five-year, $219 million supermax extension from the Spurs this summer.
But what greater benefit is there than free pizza and beer for life? And we have it on good authority from our Texan friends that the beer is good. Based on the rough calculations of my expected intake in the years to come, this works out to about $10 billion in added benefits. I mean, Leonard might weigh 350 pounds and start playing erratically, but at least he would stay in San Antonio for life.
Word is Leonard has returned to San Antonio, even if he has no plans to meet with the Spurs:
ESPN Sources: Spurs All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard and advisor are in San Antonio. Leonard spent nearly six weeks in New York rehabbing his injury. For the moment, there’s no scheduled date to meet with Spurs’ brass.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 2, 2018
It’s unclear, though, whether negotiations with Freetail Brewing Company are on the menu.
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Ben Rohrbach is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
