Back in 2003, LeBron James was in the process of deciding to sign for one of two global giants in the form of Adidas and Nike. Around the same time, the then-Real Madrid new boy David Beckham had signed a whopping $160,800,000 deal with the sneaker company, according to Cosmopolitan. However, for multiple reasons, Adidas was unwilling to offer the 10-year, $100,000,000 contract that James had cited the company.
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Instead, even after initially offering the amount, the company decided to cut down exactly $30,000,000 from it, according to The Ringer. This meant that James instead signed with Nike for $90,000,000, rather than agreeing to the now $70,000,000 contract that Adidas had offered. This was revealed by former Adidas executive Sonny Vaccaro, according to the Ringer.
LeBron James had initially agreed $100,000,000 deal with Adidas
According to Vaccaro, Adidas initially had the option of signing LeBron James back in 2003. The 10-year contract that was cited was worth a whopping $100,000,000.
While around the same time, the company had signed David Beckham for around $160,800,000 more. However, Adidas was unwilling to pay the amount to James. They already had Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady on their payroll and did not want to go ahead with the deal.
The company ended up cutting down the offer to $70,000,000. Of course, this was despite the fact that they had only recently signed David Beckham for a much bigger amount.
Beckham signed a $160,800,000 lifetime deal with the company. The Manchester United legend had been with the company since 1996, and never really wore shoes from any other company.
Regardless, Adidas had a number of reasons why they went back on their word. Apart from already having bonafide stars such as Kobe and McGrady, the company did not want to take a chance on an NBA youngster who, despite all the hype, had not yet proven himself in the league.
This led to LeBron instead signing a $90,000,000 deal with Nike. While Nike was comparatively a newcomer, James’ contract with the company led to them becoming the obvious big gun as far as the NBA was concerned. The low-ball move meant that a number of stars since then have opted for Nike, with the NBA now filled with players who have endorsements with the global giants.
LeBron James was offered $115,000,000 from Reebok
While James signed a $90,000,000 deal with Nike, it was not the biggest offer that he had on the table. As a matter of fact, Reebok had offered the then Cavaliers youngster a whipping $115,000,000 to sign.
However, he ended up refusing, leading to a bit of a feud between the two companies. Reebok claimed in a statement that they had been outbid by Nike, something which was later said to be untrue.
It seems as if while money played a part, James was intent on choosing between Adidas and Nike. While the former was the frontrunner initially, their decision to reduce the offer meant that there was only one remaining contender.
