$34 Billion Company?s Deals With Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant Dwarfed in Comparison to Their Initial Offer to 18-Year-Old LeBron James

NBA superstar LeBron James is a once-in-a-lifetime player, and it was evident from a very early stage. A young James captured the attention of national media for his displays on the basketball court as a freshman in high school. He was scoring for fun and he was not selfish. James had the IQ to play basketball the right way and could find an open teammate in a heartbeat. So his teammates enjoyed playing with him as well. This stood out from most of the players at his age. He was dubbed the ‘Chosen One’.

While most wanted to score as many as they wanted, James had no problem giving away a few points to his teammates. And his teammates were more like his family with whom he spent most of his time. With his rising superstardom, his stocks went up. Even before he joined the NBA, there were multiple endorsement deals on the table. Brands lined up to tie him to a long-term deal.

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Apparel giants like Reebok, Adidas, and Nike wanted him on their side. But James and his mother, Gloria James, were in no rush.

A teenage LeBron James wanted the best deal

LeBron James was ready to play the waiting game. He and his mother wanted to sign the best deal possible. Reebok had been behind Adidas and Nike for so many years at the time. So they were desperate to land the next big thing. Reebok offered a mindboggling $100 million deal including a $10 million signing bonus for the rookie reportedly.

Adidas had just lost Kobe Bryant who paid $8 million to buy out his contract. So they were desperate as well. They offered less than $60 million guaranteed and it could go up to $100 million under certain circumstances. Then came Nike and they offered closer to $70 million guaranteed, a $5 million signing bonus, and another $5 million later on.

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Even though it was relatively less than what Reebok had offered, Nike as a brand has a huge value. Every athlete wanted to be associated with the brand because of its products and marketing.

Furthermore, to put things into perspective, Nike’s first offer for golf legend Tiger Woods was $35 million. Woods was a huge prodigy as well when he burst onto the scene. Also, Nike signed Bryant for $40 million. The Los Angeles Lakers legend had already won three-straight titles. So Nike was not lowballing offering $70 million to the teenager.

However, James was not convinced, he was confident about his future as a superstar in the league. So Nike made an improved offer of $77 million guaranteed and a $10 million signing bonus. The future MVP signed the deal and became the face of the brand almost immediately.