News broke yesterday that NBA megastar LeBron James signed a lifetime-deal with sportswear giant Nike; only the second such deal ever with Allen Iverson and Reebok being the first.
Dollar amounts have not been released yet, but the deal is sure to keep James a wealthy man well past his retirement. The 30-year old signed a deal with Nike straight out of high school upon entering the league for seven years, $90 million and hasn’t looked back since.
The brand gifted James his own signature sneaker line and essentially the face of the basketball line at Nike; even with names like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant on board as well. Even though James is still considered one of the top players in the NBA, we all know that there will be a day that he decides to hang it up and call an end to his future Hall of Fame career; let your years commence, it’s inevitable.
We’ve seen Nike continue the lines of their signature athletes pass their retirement, from new Penny Hardaway sneakers to Scottie Pippen re-releases (retros). Even last year, Nike decided to retro Kobe Bryant’s line of signature sneakers in a special “Prelude Pack” while he’s still an active player. So, you know as soon as James’ lifetime deal was announced that one question popped into the heads of everyone: so does that mean we’re getting LeBron retros?
I think the better question here is “when?”; when will we get re-releases of LeBron sneakers. According to a March article in Forbes, at the time $340 million of LeBron James’ shoes were sold over the course of the past 12 months. To put that in perspective, Kevin Durant’s line totaled sales of $195 million and Kobe Bryant’s earned Nike $105 million in the United States. In simpler terms, James is the face of the franchise. He is to the Cleveland Cavaliers as he is to Nike basketball and Nike would be losing out on millions by not giving the people what they want: LeBron retros.
Continue reading “Kicks & Coffee (12/8) | So We’re Getting LeBron Retros or Nah?”
