Bumper payday: LeBron James is now a Nike athlete for life.
Advertisement
The sneaker giant has signed the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar to a lifetime deal that’s been described as the largest single-athlete guarantee in the company’s 44-year history.
Nike, which first signed up the Cleveland Cavaliers forward when he began his professional career 12 years ago, said the relationship “provides significant value to our business, brand and shareholders”. In 2014, after a bidding war with Under Armour Inc., Nike extended Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant on a 10- year, $300 million deal. When that deal expired in 2010, Nike inked a second deal for another nine years.
“I’m very humble, man”, James told reporters. Nike first had their eye on him right out of high school, going up against Reebok and Adidas to finally sign him for a seven-year deal worth $90 million in 2003-he was only 18 at the time. The NBA’s new $24 billion television contract will kick in before the 2016 off-season, which is expected to raise the salary cap on players’ contracts.
No financial terms around the deal have been released so far.
LeBron James (picture) will be in the Nike stable for the rest of his basketball career – and beyond.
Over a decade after Jordan’s retirement from the game, Nike still enjoys over $2bn in annual sales from the Air Jordan brand.
James’ business partner Maverick Carter will manage the deal. “We’ll see when we get to that point”, James said as quoted by the publication. He also has deals with McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Samsung among other companies.
Advertisement
Down the road, James, who turns 31 on December 30, could expand his own line of Nike shoes into other areas and develop his own brand under the company’s umbrella. With that, Nike is hoping to capitalize on Mr. James’ rising popularity to take his brand upstream.
