LeBron James made over 60% of his $120 million income from sources off the court last year. The King ended his association with McDonald’s to be able to capitalize on his full earning potential.
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Much of the criticism around James for the first 8 years of his career was about his offseason activities. Many believed that James, instead of honing his game, used his summers to build the King James brand.
James took that criticism to heart and began adding tools to his arsenal after his first summer in Miami. But that didn’t mean he’d leave his commercial partnerships behind – his earnings kept climbing yearly.
In particular, James had penned a deal with McDonald’s in 2010 that was up for renewal in 2015. But due to his other interests in the fast food industry, James decided he’d go the other way.
LeBron James turned down $15 million from McDonald’s to focus on Blaze Pizzas
According to Brian Windhorst in LeBron Inc, King James looked the other way when McDonald’s offered him a contract extension in October 2015 as follows:
“LeBron’s endorsement contract with McDonald’s was at an end that year. This was a lucrative arrangement with a legacy brand, the sort of thing LeBron and Carter had sought out the previous decade.”
“McDonald’s offered an extension for $15 million over the next 4 years, which was very good money and required only a few days a year of LeBron’s time. But Blaze was willing to boost LeBron’s stake in the company to add ‘brand ambassador’ to his list of duties.”
“Within the group, there’s a belief that the Blaze investment could surpass the Beats windfall in the coming years. And LeBron’s promotion in his expanded role has mostly been using social media and the media platforms he owns.”
“He didn’t even have to spend days approving and then making commercials. As for the $15 million they left on the table with McDonald’s, they don’t even remember it anymore.”
LeBron’s $1 Million investment is worth manifold today
James made an initial investment of $1 million in Blaze Pizzas back in 2012. By the time 2020 rolled around, the company had grown from 2 stores to over 200.
James currently owns 19 of the 298 store locations in the country. The estimated valuation of his stake in the company now stands in the region of $35-40 million.
According to a 2020 Mashed article, LeBron’s equity was worth $40M.
In just eight years, King James owned 19 Blaze Pizzas and had 40x’ed his initial $1M investment.
— Kicks (@kicks) July 25, 2022
Needless to say, his decision to end his association with McDonald’s has turned out to be a resounding success.
