Despite Offering LeBron James $28,000,000 Less than Reebok, Nike Spent ‘Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars’ Just to Woo 18-Year-Old Prodigy

Back in 2003, an 18-year-old LeBron James signed a humungous $87,000,000 deal with global giants Nike. This was despite the fact that James was offered around $28,000,000 by their rivals, Reebok. The two companies, alongside Adidas, were the frontrunners for the 2003 number 1 pick’s signature, who was already a household name by then. While Nike might not have offered the same kind of money, the company still spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on their pitch to LeBron alone, according to Brian Windhorst’s book, LeBron James Inc..

The three companies had fought for the King’s signature even before he made it to the NBA. While the draft happened in June, James had already signed with Nike in May 2003. The now 38-year-old had huge expectations placed on him right from high school, which meant that all three global giants were willing to offer him big money.

LeBron James was offered $28 million more by Reebok, than Nike

James’ $115,000,000 offer from Reebok was comprehensively larger than any other on the table. However, being a huge Michael Jordan fan, he obviously wanted to sign with the same company.

Additionally, while Nike’s offer was less, the company put in humungous work on their presentation for the 18-year-old alone. The company had scheduled the meeting for a Saturday to accommodate James’ high school commitments:

“With that as the backdrop, LeBron and his mom once again headed out to hear a pitch. Carter joined them, going back to Nike’s campus…Certain staples went into these things: special lighting, videos, products artfully displayed. But this one was the grandest Nike had done…A poet was hired to read a work created for LeBron. There were examples of what his shoes could look like, what shirts and shorts and socks would be in his clothing line…Some Nike executives estimated that between the merchandise and the man-hours, the company spent hundreds of thousands just on the pitch alone.”

What’s more, the pitch was created by Wieden+Kennedy, the agency responsible for a majority of Nike’s marketing during the time. Furthermore, they offered a range of interesting ideas in the presentation alone, which was described as the company’s “grandest ever.”

James’ sneakers, clothing line, and the overall efforts was said to have costed the company hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nike eventually proved to be successful, and have since enjoyed a lucrative partnership with the NBA legend.

James announced that he was a “Nike Guy” during press conference

James was obviously excited by the prospect of signing for Nike. Back in 2003, he was seen showing off a jumper that he was wearing from the company.

James also claimed that he was excited to be a Nike guy and wanted other players to follow suit. The then youngster went on to mention Michael Jordan in his speech as well.

Describing his as an inspiration, LeBron claimed that it was a major reason behind his desperation to sign for Nike. While he was in two minds until the final days, he ended up signing with the company despite the fact that it meant less money for him.