James’ lifetime deal with Nike is rivaled by Nike’s relationship with an earlier superstar, Michael Jordan.
Advertisement
LeBron James has signed a lifetime deal with U.S. sporting goods giant Nike it was confirmed on Monday in what was described as the largest single athlete deal in the company’s history.
LeBron James will be peddling Nikes for the rest of his life.
In signing up the athlete, Nike points out that LeBron provides significant value to its business, brand and shareholders.
James, who now plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has already had Nike’s favor for the past 12 years. But ESPN reports that it greatly exceeds the 10-year, $300 million contract Kevin Durant signed with the Oregon-based company last year.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Nike has been making LeBron-branded shoes since 2003 when the company signed a seven-year $90 million deal, which was the largest ever at the time.
Speaking to reporters on Monday after the deal had been announced, Mr James said, “I’m very humble, man”.
Elsewhere in the NBA, Golden State Warriors’ point guard Stephen Curry has renewed his multi-year partnership with Degree Deodorant.
“Because I don’t want to go nowhere else”, he said.
James’ Nike business has been consistent even when things haven’t gone smoothly. More notably, Adidas for instance, had struck lifetime deals with soccer star David Beckham and Derrick Rose.
Nike reportedly doesn’t intend to break out James’ brand into its own subsidiary just yet, but as Jordan has shown, a brand like that can be profitable well past retirement.
Advertisement
As Fortune’s Daniel Roberts notes, James’ deal with Nike is the latest in a series of successful business ventures. Although he has been retired for more than a decade, ESPN reported Jordan’s brand still generates more than $2.2 billion in sales. Lebron is now on his 13th signature shoe, and every year kids from all over the country rush to local sneaker stores to attempt to get their hands on a pair of his shoes. Last week, Warner Bros Entertainment and Turner Sports invested US$15.8 in James’ Uninterrupted multimedia platform, which specialises in social media content from an athlete’s perspective.
