“LeBron James gave Nike’s founder a $7500 vintage Rolex from 1972!”: When Lakers superstar showed his ultimate boss some serious gratitude for his $90 million contract

A vintage Rolex as a gift is a classy gesture, especially when it comes from a profitable athlete like LeBron James. Phil Knight loved it! 

Nike is a company that knows how to sign talents. From Michael Jordan to Cristiano Ronaldo, they are the kings of marketing. LeBron James is another athlete, who is perhaps as big as those two, if not bigger.

Whether you play or watch basketball, or even if you do neither, the name LeBron James is forever associated with it. When Nike signed him in 2003, just before he declared for the NBA Draft, it looked like a gamble.

But the payoff has been insane. The athlete has earned more than his weight in gold for the company. Well, it will be far more than that but you get the idea.

So, how does a young kid from Akron, Ohio thank such a big company for taking a chance on him? Well, he does that by giving a gift that Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, will probably, never forget.

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In 2005 LeBron James got a 1972 (birth of Nike) Rolex to thank Phil Knight for taking a chance on him.

That’s type of thoughtful shit I do.

— Eros (@Eros_Rios2) July 10, 2018

A 1972 vintage Rolex to show his appreciation; LeBron James gifts Phil Knight a rare timepiece!

We don’t know where LeBron sourced the gift from but the story goes that he gave Phil Knight the gift at a private Nike event in 2005. 20-year-old LeBron wanted to thank Phil for believing in him and that he had been studying Nike’s history for a while.

LeBron then presented Phil with a vintage Rolex from 1972, which was the year Nike was founded in. The watch featured an inscription on the back, “with thanks for taking a chance on me”.

The relationship between the two and Nike’s trust in LeBron has grown tenfold over the years. They signed him to a lifetime deal worth a billion dollars!

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