Who says big men can't sell product? Portland Trail Blazers big man Greg Oden has deals with Nike and McDonald's. Now he has a deal with Cricket Wireless in Portland, Oregon. Here are the details of Oden's new deal with Cricket:

Greg Oden Chooses Cricket for Cellular and Mobile Broadband Endorsement
~One of the Most-Anticipated Players Ever to Lace Up for the Portland Trailblazers Signs with Cricket as His Wireless Provider; New Exclusive Wireless Products Expected Soon~

PORTLAND – September 6, 2008 – Portland Trailblazers center Greg Oden announced today a new partnership through which he will be endorsing a wireless provider and creating signature wireless products. Today, Oden agreed to endorse Cricket, a leading provider of unlimited wireless services.

“I’ve been using my Cricket phone during the off-season in Portland and back East, but like training, there’s a point when you just have to get out there and mix it up,” said Oden. “I’m working with Cricket on something that Blazers fans should really like. Soon we’ll show Portland why they have every right to be excited, both about the upcoming NBA season and my endorsement with Cricket.”

As a Cricket customer, Oden has unlimited anytime minutes, unlimited text and picture messaging and unlimited long distance. But, as a Cricket endorser, Oden signed a contract, whereas Cricket customers are never asked to sign a contract of any kind. As a Cricket endorser, Oden will be intimately involved in the creation of a signature line of wireless products and accessories, the details of which will be announced at a later date. Oden is also using Cricket’s Mobile Broadband service on his laptop computer. Cricket has provided high-speed wireless Internet service in Portland since November 2007.

“I couldn’t be more excited about Greg endorsing Cricket. Naturally I’m thrilled to have someone of his caliber on board, and I’ve been impressed with his creativity and participation in the planning of a product that really reflects his wireless needs,” said Neil Grubb, president and CEO of Cricket LCW, the Portland-based provider of Cricket service in Oregon and Southwest Washington. “Cricket obviously fits the 20-something wireless lifestyle, and I’m eager to work with Greg in the months ahead to find new ways for his fans to benefit from Cricket’s unlimited, no-contract plans.”

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Oden has been a household name in basketball circles since his days as a McDonald’s All-American at Lawrence North High School, where he twice earned Parade Magazine’s national Player of the Year honors, twice won USA Today’s Player of the Year award, and was only the second player ever to repeat as the Gatorade National Player of the Year. As a freshman at Ohio State University, Oden led the Buckeyes to the NCAA National Championship game, even as he spent the majority of the season with his shooting hand in a cast.

About Cricket
Cricket is a simple, affordable wireless service offering consumers and local businesses a flat-rate unlimited service over the latest technology, high-quality, all-digital CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO wireless network. Designed for customers whose basic and advanced wireless needs have not been met by traditional communications companies, Cricket is the pioneer of unlimited services with no long-term commitments or credit checks required. Cricket offers customers access to a variety of the latest devices and feature-rich mobile applications such as unlimited text, instant and picture messaging, Mobile Web, popular games, ringtones and wallpapers.  For more information on Cricket, visit www.mycricket.com. Cricket services are offered by Leap Wireless International, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, Calif. For more information on Leap, visit www.leapwireless.com.

About Cricket LCW
Cricket LCW is joint venture between Cricket Communications, Inc., CSM Wireless, and WLPCS Management providing Cricket® wireless service in Portland, Salem, and Eugene, OR, and Vancouver, WA. For more information on Cricket LCW, visit www.mycricketoregon.com.

###