It’s been an interesting few days for LeBron James. First, he got his own typeface, which in and of itself is kinda cool. With that being said, signing a “lifetime deal” that’s reportedly the “largest single athlete guarantee” in the history of Nike is probably on an entirely different level than “kinda cool.”
Indeed, that’s what’s happened today as ESPN’s Darren Rovell is reporting that LeBron James will be sponsored by Nike for a contract that will apparently last “way beyond his playing years.” There’s no word yet on how much money LeBron will be making off of this deal, but I’d imagine it’s probably enough to fill up a boat or twelve.
I do find it interesting that they got this done before Nike becomes the official supplier of the NBA. It definitely makes sense that they’d try to get this out of the way before the hand-off from Adidas takes place. Although we’re still a couple of seasons away from that, I’d be willing to speculate that this will probably result in seeing some interesting designs that involve LeBron, Nike, and whatever team he’s on at that point (it’ll probably still be the Cavaliers, but the future is wacky so who knows what could happen between now and the next contract signing). Plus, having the most popular player in the league be under the same umbrella as the league’s uniform supplier is just good for business in general.
If you’re wondering if LeBron is the first to receive a “lifetime deal” from Nike, he probably isn’t. Rovell made sure to note that although it’s never been formally announced, Michael Jordan probably has a de facto lifetime deal. Either way, LeBron James is in rare company at this point, and he’ll be cashing lavish Nike checks for a very, very long time.
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