New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) moves the ball down court in the second half of an NBA … [+]
The National Basketball Players Association has named Que Gaskins president of THINK450, the NBA players union’s marketing and licensing subsidiary.
Gaskins had been serving as interim president since August 2021 when Payne Brown, THINK450’s president, left to join HPS Investment Partners as managing director. Gaskins reports to Tamika Tremaglio, the NBPA’s executive director.
Gaskins joined the NBPA as chief brand and growth officer in September 2017 after the union retained its own group licensing rights as part of the collective bargaining agreement with the NBA that began in July 2017.
Players unions in the NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball had their own group licensing rights for several years. But the NBA had previously managed licensing deals for the players and paid the union an annual fee to distribute to its members.
“This was my vision from day one,” Gaskins said. “I knew at some point, this was a role that I wanted. I’m just happy it worked out. I was happy I could come in, make some contributions, show people that I have a vision and I can help continue to move this thing forward and they have trust and faith that I’m the right guy for the job.”
Gaskins was one of the driving forces behind changing the subsidiary’s name from National Basketball Players Inc. to THINK450, an homage to the 450 players who are on NBA active rosters. THINK450 is the for-profit arm of the NBPA, which also has a non-profit arm known as the NBPA Foundation.
“I really wanted our players to be reminded why they took back their rights,” Gaskins said. “They took back their rights to think about the 450, to think about the collective. I also wanted us to be reminded every day when we were coming to work why we come to work. We come to work to think 450. We don’t come to think of the top 10, top 50 (or) just LeBron (James) or Steph Curry.”
The messaging extended to companies that THINK450 works with, according to Gaskins: “We were the only place that could provide you all 450 active players. No agency, no other brand, not even the NBA can give you all 450 players because we’re the ones who have the players’ rights. The NBA doesn’t.”
Gaskins has worked in the sports and entertainment industries for nearly 30 years in a few high-profile roles. In 1994, one year after obtaining his MBA from Northwestern
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Gaskins had played basketball at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC with John Thompson III, whose father was Georgetown’s legendary coach. Gaskins got to know several people associated with the Georgetown program and established a rapport with Iverson. Other Reebok officials were interested in signing a deal with UMass star Marcus Camby, the No. 2 pick in the 1996 draft, but Gaskins thought Iverson was a much better choice.
“I was just like, ‘I think Allen Iverson is the one. I think he’s the one that can help sell a lot of product,’” Gaskins said. “He was more relatable. He had that off the court, on the court appeal that I thought would appeal to a lot of young people. As they say, the rest is history.
After the 76ers drafted Iverson, Gaskins moved to Philadelphia and handled Reebok’s day-to-day business with Iverson, helping with footwear, apparel, commercials and anything else he needed.
At Reebok, Gaskins later led the company’s RBK lifestyle brand. He also worked at Nike from 2008 to 2011 as head of marketing for the East Region from Maine to Florida.
Gaskins said he was intrigued when the NBPA recruited him in 2017 because players unions are typically led by attorneys, accountants and financial people rather than someone like him whose expertise is in marketing.
“Most unions really didn’t have a lot of true brand people and marketing people, people who understood how to build brands and do marketing,” he said. “One of the things I needed to do when I first went there internally was figure out how to make everyone understand the power of the brand, how to get everybody to understand the power of what creative marketing could do for a brand and how do I do it in a manner where it’s collaborative.”
Since THINK450 was formed five years ago, it has struck licensing deals with apparel companies such as Fanatics and Nike and digital/gaming deals with EA Sports for the NBA 2K video games, Dapper Labs Inc. for the NBA Top Shot NFT platform and Sorare for an NBA NFT-based fantasy sports game. THINK450 and the NBA have also signed a deal that will see Fanatics have an exclusive license for NBA trading cards starting in 2026, replacing Panini.
In addition, THINK450 has had partnerships with companies such as DoorDash to support Black-owned restaurants and Dove Men+Care for a national advertising campaign advocating for social justice and racial equality.
Gaskins would not reveal how much money the players have made via these deals, but THINK450 has achieved a 31% compound annual growth rate since it was formed five years ago.
“Every year, the players’ annual distribution amounts, what they call their licensing checks, every year that payment has gone up,” Gaskins said. “And it has gone up at a rate where from a market perspective, I wish there was a way for me to invest in it because nothing else in the market is giving anyone that type of return.”
The NBPA’s collective bargaining agreement with the NBA expires after the 2023-24 season, although both sides can exercise an opt-out clause by Dec. 15. Gaskins said the NBPA plans on keeping its group licensing rights and maintaining THINK450 for years to come.
“THINK450 is extremely important for us as players, as it allows us to control our collective brand and develop new and unique platforms off the court,” New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, the NBPA’s President, said in a news release. “Given Que’s strong career background and familiarity with the NBPA, we are excited to have him lead THINK450 officially, and I look forward to working with him to enhance what we can provide for the collective group of players from a business perspective.”
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