“LeBron James Knew He Was Gonna Make $1 Billion”: Sebastian Telfair Regrets Adidas Deal While Commending LBJ for Rejecting the Brand

Sebastian Telfair still has some regrets from his NBA career, but it has nothing to do with his play on the court. The now-retired star was a recent guest on Dwight Howard’s “Above The Rim” podcast, where he discussed his shoe deal with Adidas that he signed before getting drafted in the NBA.

The former NBA star also commented on how LeBron James, who was drafted one year ahead of Telfair, was smart enough to choose Nike.

Howard began the conversation by admitting that he was still mad about how Adidas did him wrong during his NBA days. Telfair jumped in and stated that if he could go back in time he would have signed with Nike rather than Adidas. He then commended James for seeing the bigger picture — and picking the brand that had the best product and the best marketability.

“Bron knew that. Bron made that decision based on ‘why would I not go with the best shoe?’ That’s where Bron’s IQ is at. The money, Bron knew he was going to make a billion dollars,” Telfair stated.

At the time, Adidas offered James a 10-year, $100 million deal, which was a much bigger offer than the $87 million Nike offered him in high school. In 2015, the future Hall of Famer signed a lifetime contract with Nike worth $1 billion, which is what the former OKC Thunder star was referring to.

Telfair’s journey was much different. He signed a $20 million contract with Adidas in 2004, but they withdrew from the deal in 2007 after he was arrested for gun possession. This included the brand canceling a $6 million check that was pending. Telfair fully vocalized his frustration with Adidas during a 2024 interview on VladTV.

“I had like a $6 million check pending right there…Adidas is super bogus for that. If you go to my documentary, and they asked Adidas, ‘Why y’all signing Sebastian? What does he bring to Adidas?’ And they was like, ‘Street credibility.’…Soon as some street s*** supposedly jump off, y’all go snatch all the money back. And y’all been paying me way before this, so how you gonna take that?” he stated at the time.

The former 13th pick in the 2004 draft’s legal issues continued to pile up after that 2007 arrest. In 2023, he pled guilty to charges of fraud that sentenced him to three years of probation. One must wonder if choosing the correct brand could have made all the difference in Telfair’s disappointing NBA career.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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