NBA superstar LeBron James may have to share some of the spotlight with Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, but there is still no denying LeBron was a revolutionary athlete when it came to endorsements off the court.
LeBron James a lifetime deal with Nike at the end of last year — the first person to sign a lifetime deal with the company — and early reports suggested the value was north of $500 million.
Well, according to James’ longtime business manager Maverick Carter, the deal may actually exceed expectations.
During an exchange with GQ, Carter suggested the deal was actually worth more than $1 billion.
“How much was the deal for?
I can’t say.“Come on, Mav! Can you ballpark it?
What are people saying?“Kanye said a billion. So a billion.
[Maverick smiles and points one finger skyward.]“Holy [expletive].
Yeah. It’s a fantastic deal. Nike feels great about the deal. That’s the most important thing. As great as I feel, as great as LeBron feels—Nike feels fantastic about it. It’s the largest deal in the history of the company. Their hope is he makes even more. And our hope is that, too, obviously.”
Wow, score one for Team LeBron.
LeBron has been a wild success for Nike, so it was no surprise that he was locked up with a longtime deal. And if the deal really is worth more than $1 billion, LeBron James will have achieved his dream of being the first billionaire NBA player.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
