“LeBron James spent ONLY $2000 of his $90 million Nike contract!”: How The King spent his first ever Nike endorsement check as an 18-year-old

NBA superstar LeBron James signed a $90 million deal with Nike before ever playing an NBA game. The 4x NBA champion spent only $2000 of that, on his friends, going to the amusement park.

LeBron James is one of the greatest, if not the greatest to ever step on a basketball court. Entering the league as an 18-year-old back in 2003, the expectations were at an all-time high for the Chosen One. Fast forward nearly two decades, it’s safe to say The King has surpassed those expectations with relative ease, establishing himself as the face of the sport.

Despite entering the NBA directly from high school, LeBron averaged an astounding 20.9 points per game, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds as a rookie. In fact, there was so much hype on LeBron as a teenager, that he signed a seven-year $90 million deal with Nike even before playing his first NBA game, which is still the biggest rookie shoe endorsement to date.

In 2003, 18-year-old LeBron James signed a $90 million deal with Nike.

He was asked about how he would handle the pressure to succeed:pic.twitter.com/nOngyrCQTK

— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) October 12, 2020

While LeBron is one of the most financially intelligent athletes today, let’s look at how he spent money from his first-ever Nike check, a decision that cost him a couple of thousand dollars.

Also Read: “From day 1, LeBron James knew how to involve teammates, something that Michael Jordan had to learn”: When Pistons legend Bill Laimbeer explained why The King was his GOAT pick

LeBron James spends $2000 from his first Nike check to celebrate with friends.

For nearly the last two decades, not only has LeBron James been the face of the league, he has also been the face of Nike. After signing his $90 million rookie deal, The King resigned with Nike and reportedly earned as much as $30 million annually. Furthermore, the 4x NBA champion signed a lifetime deal with the brand in 2015. Both the parties have been making money with each other for quite some time now.

In fact, the Lakers star received his check from them as an 18-year-old. And James’ former PR manager, Dennis detailed how the King spent his first check from Nike as an 18-year-old. He goes on to say –

“After I hand-delivered it to him, LeBron took that multimillion-dollar Nike check, deposited it, and came out with maybe $2,000 in cash. He never spent or indulged in a frivolous manner when the money came. He did take his closest friend to an amusement park.”

Wow! While a veteran LeBron wouldn’t do anything of the sort, it’s funny to see how a professional like him, acted like a true teenager at one point in his life, celebrating his big payday like pretty much every teenager in America at the time.

Also Read: “LeBron James tops the list with $127 million, Stephen Curry comes in 6th with $86 million”: Sportico’s list of 2022’s highest-paid athletes features 4 NBA players in the top 10