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LeBron James Signs Unprecedented Lifetime Contract with Nike

bloomberg.com

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Re: LeBron James Signs Unprecedented Lifetime Contract with Nike

#31

Post by qq66 »

danso wrote: post #3

> His lifetime deal with Nike could eventually become something similar to Michael Jordan’s. Jordan, 52, is officially the chief executive officer of the Jordan Brand, which continues to release new shoes. Sales of Air Jordan brand shoes topped $2.6 billion last year, according to Forbes. I had to read that last figure twice...the first time, I thought it meant $2.6 billion total , which seems like a reasonable amoun…

Jordan's legend isn't due just to his prodigious basketball skills, but also his meticulous approach to personal branding over his career. I remember reading an article about 15 years ago where he talked about how he wore a suit to walk from his hotel room to the team bus, a walk through the lobby of a few feet, because fans had come to see him and he wanted to leave a good impression.

Re: LeBron James Signs Unprecedented Lifetime Contract with Nike

#32

Post by paganel »

danso wrote: post #3

> His lifetime deal with Nike could eventually become something similar to Michael Jordan’s. Jordan, 52, is officially the chief executive officer of the Jordan Brand, which continues to release new shoes. Sales of Air Jordan brand shoes topped $2.6 billion last year, according to Forbes. I had to read that last figure twice...the first time, I thought it meant $2.6 billion total , which seems like a reasonable amoun…

> Named for an athlete who has long been retired?

For what it's worth, Drake is wearing an Air Jordan t-shirt in latest music video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxpDa-c-4Mc), which has already reached 180+ million views since the end of October. I'm in my middle 30s so I've only heard about Drake at the start of this year, but he seems to be quite influential among younger people. He's also wearing one of those Moncler things, the video reminded me of the famous "They Live" sunglasses scene (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inZUDMGJsKo).

Re: LeBron James Signs Unprecedented Lifetime Contract with Nike

#33

Post by unprepare »

justinator wrote: post #21
brandonmenc wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> for one line of shoes There are at least a few new Jordan sneakers released every single week. http://sneakernews.com/air-jordan-release-dates/

This is amazing, they're just shoes named, "Air Jordan". some of them are just reissues of shoes that came out when I was in middle school.

Like the Disney Vault, when you tightly control supply you can easily release "retro" or old versions of the same product with great success.

Re: LeBron James Signs Unprecedented Lifetime Contract with Nike

#34

Post by joelrunyon »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #28
joelrunyon wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you have to compare the "brand" of Jordan vs. Lebron. Jordan has had almost 30 years to mature. Lebron is not even half that. Interesting to see how this compares & will play out compared to other deals (Under Armour has equity deals with Brady / Curry) which insinuates longer term deals - even if it's not explicit.

> Jordan has had almost 30 years to mature. Lebron is not even half that. This is a reasonable thing to say, but celebrity branding doesn't necessarily get better with time, and I think is actually particularly unlikely to do so compared to other forms of branding.

In the case of Jordan it does.

Part of the reason for Jordan's success is that he's the GOAT - and an umbrella for other players. His "Jordan" line doesn't just include his signature shoes, but players like CP3, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony and Russel Westbrook.

Way easier to pull in other players after you're retired than it is while you're still in the game. That's why you're seeing Jordan take up 58% of the basketball shoe market.

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