LeBron James grabbed the headlines for publicly showcasing his intentions to stream the football video game series, Madden. His motive has made one of the two big names in the market, KICK and Twitch his possible destination. Amidst the hype around the situation, KICK holds a slight edge over its competitors as the 39-year-old might just decide to go with them.
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The Los Angeles Lakers talisman recently expressed his desire on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Thinking of live streaming my EAMaddenNFL games when I play. Who should I stream with? Meaning which platform brand?”. It caught the attention of KICK’s media handle as they presented him with significant reasons to side with them. “Maybe we’re biased but ask Drake & Bronny [James], they’ll tell you Kick is where it’s at,” they declared.
Despite the seemingly aggressive marketing tactic from the brand, these could well become key factors behind LeBron’s decision-making. As the 4x champion sounded serious with his approach, KICK promptly expressed their stance on the matter. Thus, the three reasons mentioned below could become pivotal in James possibly becoming a streamer on the platform.
Why could LeBron James pick KICK over Twitch?
1) The cost-saving mindset of LeBron: The streaming companies’ revenue models would play a major role in his final decision. KICK has an upper hand in that situation as they take out only 5% of their creator’s earnings, providing the streamers with the rest of 95%. Twitch on the other hand takes out half of the streamers’ individual earnings, leaving them with only 50%.
So, LeBron’s mentality could see him choosing KICK over Twitch. The 19x All-Star is well known for never letting go of an opportunity to retain wealth, as confirmed by one of his close friends Dwyane Wade. The Miami Heat icon had once even called him “the cheapest player in the NBA” for his mindset. Thus, KICK certainly comes across as a more fitting option for James in that regard.
2) The signing bonus could become a crucial part of the talks: KICK made a name for themselves in the streaming industry with the concept of signing bonuses. This disrupted the market as they once offered the Canadian streamer xQc a 2-year $100 million deal to stream on their platform. Notably, these paychecks are entirely separate from the individual’s earnings from his endeavors.
So, KICK could make a similar move for the Lakers’ small forward. After all, Adin Ross, a close friend of his oldest son Bronny, also earns $10 million per year from his contract with the organization. Thus, the combined appeal of these factors could help KICK lure James to their side.
3) Word of mouth: The Canadian artist, Drake remains a close friend of the 4x MVP. Interestingly, the artist has been streaming on KICK for a year now, gathering nearly 150k followers on his account. The rapper’s decision to join the company marked a significant period for its growth as its growth since then has been rapid.
So, KICK was quick to address that in the replies, as soon as LeBron went public with his desire. They wanted to leverage his connection with Drake and were quite open about it. As things stand, this might just work to the benefit of KICK.
For these three major reasons, the chances of James siding with KICK remain quite high. At this stage, it is still unclear when he might start streaming the video game. Amidst the concerns, the hype around the scenario stays high, adding a layer of excitement around the NBA star.
