The only player to truly walk on the steps forged by Michael Jordan‘s business intelligence is LeBron James. With his various endorsements and deals, the Lakers superstar has built an empire that could put a lot of successful businessmen to shame.
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In 2022, LeBron pushed his overall net worth to $1 billion. He is officially the only NBA player in history after Michael Jordan to become a billionaire. But Bron’s achievement overshadows even Jordan because he is still active.
Now at the mid-point of his journey, after all his investments and endorsements will not stop even after retirement, LeBron James has clearly become a masterful entrepreneur. It is hard to imagine a time when he wasn’t filthy rich. But the reality is, LeBron came from humble beginnings and did not get a financial kick-start until 2003.
Reebok was the first company to offer LeBron James a deal. However, though their offer was awfully generous, the 6′ 9″ superstar refused their offer to Reebok’s surprise.
LeBron James turned down $10 million Reebok offer
In 2003, just a few months before his NBA debut, LeBron was probably the most valuable prospect of the decade. The Chosen One was expected to take the world of basketball by storm and all the shoe brands were taking note of his potential.
Reebok was the first to offer him a deal. Steve Stoute, who had previously helped launch the careers of artists like Nas and 50 Cent, advised Paul Fireman, the Chairman of Reebok, to offer Bron a deal he couldn’t refuse. Stoute believed offering money could help close a deal.
But much to Fireman and Stoute’s surprise, LeBron wasn’t the average poor teenager. Even then, he was impressively smart and had a keen observation.
Bron understood that though what Reebok offered was beyond generous, there were other companies and brands who would have loved to sign with him. So, he refused. In his book LeBron Inc: The Making of a Billion Dollar Athlete, Brian Windhorst wrote of the meeting in detail.
Windhorst: “An 18-year-old with nothing had said no. In fact, he said no to a deal that would have been worth up to $100 million in total and the huge check ($10 million) he could have taken with him and deposited the next morning.”
LeBron’s refusal came right after Jay-Z’s signature deal
Back in 2003, Reebok was still big. Their deal with Shaq had proved fruitful and they needed another athlete to take over the reins. Clearly, LeBron was the best choice.
Having signed and launched Jay-Z’s shoe the same year they offered LeBron the offer, Reebok must have been awfully confident in their dealings. But unfortunately for them, Bron was far more calculating than they had anticipated. The 18-year-old to-be superstar knew the deal on the table was attractive but also understood his value.
He eventually signed with Nike. Fireman ended up selling Reebok to Adidas in 2005. Adidas controlled the brand for 16 years before selling it to Authentic Brands for $2.5 billion in 2021. Maybe things would have been different for the brand if LeBron had accepted their offer.
