$14 Billion Company Low-Balling 18-Year-Old Lebron James Led to ‘The King’ Signing $90 Million Deal Elsewhere

LeBron James entered the NBA in 2003. The 18-year-old was the most talked about player in the league and he had brand endorsement offers even before it was revealed which team he would join. The four-time NBA champ joined the league straight out of high school and lured some top-class sneaker manufacturers into signing him. Several companies including Reebok, Adidas, and Nike offered LeBron James some hefty deals. However, it was not easy for young King James to decide with so much money involved.

The same year, Reebok offered Kobe Bryant a $15 million a year deal after he bought himself out of Adidas by paying $8 million. Kobe was a major shoe icon in the league, and Reebok worked hard to sign him. However, the deal did not go through and Bryant decided to go with Nike, signing a $40 million deal. 

Reebok, Adidas, and Nike battle to sign young LeBron James

Aaron Goodwin was LeBron James‘ sports agent at the time. He devised a strategy to start a bidding war to land James a substantial shoe deal during his rookie season. Reebok pursued LeBron James quite eagerly after missing out on Kobe. They were the first ones to have a meeting with James and his mother, Gloria.

Reebok offered a hefty $100 million deal, including a $10 million signing bonus, sending the 18-time All-Star wondering about his future without Nike or Adidas. 

James’ second shoe endorsement meeting was with Adidas. Executive Sonny Vaccaro also proposed a similar offer of $100 million, guaranteed at $10 million annually. After working on the deal for months, Adidas sent a private jet for LeBron and his friends. They also provided courtside seats to James during a Lakers playoff game, where the kid from Akron saw Bryant donning his Jordans.

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However, Adidas failed to deliver the $100 million deal they had offered to James and guaranteed less than $60 million. With a bigger offer standing from Reebok, Adidas was out of the bidding war.

Nike steals the show from Reebok

The last shoe manufacturer to meet LeBron James and his mother was Nike. The short brand spent a great deal of money during their meeting with King James. LeBron and Gloria dropped by for the presentation at Nike’s campus with Maverick Carter. They were taken to the Mia Hamm Building, a unique structure with the finest display amenities inside.

Nike shared their plans with James and offered a deal close to $70 million guaranteed. They were willing to hand out a $5 million signing bonus and an additional $5 million after the deal was confirmed.

Nike had a much lower offer than Reebok and James was inclined towards signing the latter. Reebok executives even flew to Akron to finalize the massive deal with LeBron James. However, James could not ignore his love for Nikes and his dream of donning the shoes like Michael Jordan. 

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Following James’ realization, Goodwin reached out to Nike and asked to up their initial offer. Nike obliged and presented a seven-year, $77 million offer, which LeBron agreed to. With a signing bonus of $10 million, the deal was worth around $87 million.

Eventually, the deal earned him around $90 million. Thus, the decision to lay off a $14 billion dollar company like Reebok did pay off for LeBron James, who bagged the highest shoe deal in the NBA at that time.