It's safe to say at this point that the Raptors' decision to trade for Kawhi Leonard last summer was a smart move. Toronto holds a 3-1 series lead over Golden State in the 2019 NBA Finals, and the Raptors are just one win removed from their first-ever NBA title. The value of the franchise has never been higher.
But while the Leonard trade has been a bargain for one NBA franchise, his move from San Antonio to north of the border and the ensuing team success is costing the Golden Arches a pretty penny — or 580,000,000 pennies if we're being precise.
At about this time last year, Chuck Coolen — the head of marketing for McDonald’s in Eastern Canada — was finalizing a sponsorship deal to give away free french fries in Ontario every time the Raptors made at least 12 3-pointers in a game. Coolen told The Financial Post that the deal was completed before the Raptors traded DeMar DeRozan for Leonard, but he still had enough time to change the promotion. Coolen opted not to.
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The promotion was structured around a similar free-food giveaway with the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, and McDonald's arrived at 12 based on the shooting output of the Raptors in the season before in which they made 12 or more 3s on 43 occassions. Coolen's prediction of adding Leonard and Danny Green to Toronto not altering the amount of games with 12 3s was pretty accurate, as the Raptors finished the regular season with 44 games of 12 or more 3s.
Toronto has added 10 more games this postseason that meet the criteria. Based on the popularity of the Raptors last year, Coolen forecasted McDonalds franchises to give away around 700,000 free orders of fries. Instead, the popularity of the team has skyrocketed — as has the appetite for free food, apparently — and Ontario McDonald's have given away nearly three times as many free fries as was anticipated.
Franchises have been averaging 500 free orders after each qualified game, according to The Financial Post. One franchise's record was 960 free orders. Following Game 1, Ontario McDonald's combined to give away 80,000 free orders of fries, pushing the total to more than two million orders for the entire season. At an average menu price of $2.89, that's a staggering $5.8 million, which translates to more than $4.3 million U.S. dollars.
And with the NBA Finals ongoing, there's still time for more. As for winning a championship? Well, that is priceless.