CBS's efficiency was astonishing.
By the next day the CBS Sports Channel had already aired a full segment featuring Snoopy.
The broadcast opened with the now-iconic footage captured by TNT: Snoopy standing up, clapping his hands, telling his teammates —
"Everyone deserves a youth worth remembering. I hope that fifty years from now, when you talk about tonight, your blood still burns with passion."
"Come with me — let's go win this."
On screen, Snoopy looked unshakably determined.
Then came the signature emotional narration in that distinct CBS tone:
"This was on the evening of April 19th, U.S. time — the NCAA National Championship game. When UCLA's star Kevin Love left the court injured, the team fell behind by 13 points and morale plummeted. That's when Snoopy stood up. This moment is now call this moment 'The Speech.'
After a few clips of the heated game, the narration continued — the roar of "Snoopy! Snoopy!" echoing through the arena:
"Following The Speech, Snoopy led UCLA on a furious comeback. He finished with 8 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals — an all-around stat line — and earned college basketball's highest individual honor: the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player Award."
"Snoopy — a full scholarship student at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. Height: 193 cm. Weight: 96 kg. Starting point guard for the UCLA Bruins. Born June 15, 1989 — soon to turn 19 years old…"
After a lengthy background intro, CBS aired a montage of The Snoopy Whirlwind — from Snoopy's first college game all the way to him lifting the championship trophy.
Then came Kobe Bryant's face on screen:
"I've watched him play twice in person. He's got an incredible mental strength. I'll be waiting for him in the NBA."
Next, Steve Nash:
"He plays the right way — always making smart decisions. I'd love to be his teammate someday."
Then came Ben Howland, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, and Luc Mbah a Moute — all singing Snoopy's praises.
To Snoopy's surprise, Mbah a Moute — once his locker-room rival — spoke the most passionately:
"He's my idol. I respect and admire him from the bottom of my heart.
I've never met someone so selfless. He'll fight for rebounding position just to give you an easy board. He'll take on the opposing big man so you can get the block. And if you run open, he'll find you instantly. As long as he's on the floor, he's helping you.
That's why he's our team's spiritual leader — and why we were all willing to follow this 'rookie' into battle."
Hearing that, Snoopy actually shivered — goosebumps all over.
Then came his own interview segment.
Watching himself on screen, Snoopy realized for the first time — Damn, I look good. His sharp features looked way more photogenic than in the mirror, maybe 30% more handsome under studio lights.
The full feature ran 20 minutes — a generous spotlight by CBS standards.
With CBS's full-scale coverage, Snoopy's rising popularity exploded — he became the nation's new sports darling overnight. Basketball fans were in heated discussion about this miracle kid, eagerly anticipating the upcoming NBA Draft.
As Snoopy's fame skyrocketed, his agent started receiving more and more endorsement offers — and with higher numbers each time.
But for now, she focused all her energy on one negotiation: Nike.
Adidas had tried to step in, but they'd already blown their budget on Derrick Rose and couldn't match expectations.
Eventually, Snoopy met privately with Nike Vice President Aaron Freeman.
They talked behind closed doors for nearly three hours — Freeman's secretary brought in coffee five times.
When they finally emerged, both were smiling — the deal was done.
Nike signed Snoopy to a five-year endorsement contract worth $88.88 million, with $4.88 million guaranteed (Snoopy insisted every number end in an 8, it was his lucky number).
The breakdown went like this:
Year 1:
Base salary: $880,000
Lottery pick bonus: +$600,000
40+ starts: +$800,000
30+ Top 5 Plays highlights: +$900,000
Rookie Game selection: +$500,000
Rookie Game MVP: +$1.5M
All-Rookie First Team: +$1M
Rookie of the Year: +$2M
Year 2:
Base salary matches cumulative Year 1 earnings.
If all bonuses triggered, Nike would design Snoopy's signature shoe and elevate him to a $12M annual endorsement contract.
Partial triggers would adjust pay proportionally, with new challenges: 60+ starts, 30+ Top 5 Plays, All-Star selection, Player of the Month, team stat leader, and playoff qualification.
Year 3: Max potential — $18M
Year 4: Max potential — $26M (with brutal performance clauses)
Year 5: Max potential — $32M (essentially impossible to reach).
After reading through everything, Daphne took a deep breath.
"You really have that much confidence in yourself? It literally says here: if you don't hit any performance triggers in the first two years, they can buy you out for $2 million."
Snoopy shrugged:
"That's fair — risk management. But look here — the addendum. If I trigger all incentives in the first three years, I can opt out early — though Nike has the right to match."
Daphne frowned.
"But the Year 3 bonuses include All-Star Game MVP and All-NBA Third Team. Can you even do that?"
Snoopy grinned.
"You don't know until you try."
The next day at noon, Nike held a grand press conference announcing the signing of NCAA Final Four MVP Snoopy to a five-year, $88.88 million deal.
The basketball world went absolutely wild.