All I can say is…”Wow”. Can I be an 18 year old by the name of LeBron James? Can I be so heavily sought after by corporate america that I’m offered a $90+ million Nike shoe contract over a month before I’m even drafted? Can I get an exclusive trading card deal with Upper Deck and get a $1 million signing bonus $1 million just to sign my name?! Damn!! Homie ain’t even been drafted yet! He hasn’t been field tested in the NBA yet. But, he’s going to have a hell of a bargaining chip when folks try to sign him to that multi- year contract on some, “Nike paid me $90 million, what you got?” type shit. Shit, Juwan Howard got a $110 million contract for playing two good seasons, one of which was by the sheer grace that Cris Webber got double teamed a lot and Juwan was open. I never liked that dude, He’s a soft ass punk, glad Washington shipped his ass out.
But anyways, back to LeBron. C’mon, say it with me…”Daaaaamn!” I know ya’ll feel me.
The Irony: Ain’t nobody putting up that type of dough for nothing. His shoes probably gonna start at $185- $200. While fluctuations in the nations economy and the strength of the dollar goes up and down, Nike will adjust shoe prices to bleed the pockets of the parents of kids with low self esteem dry. His contract say’s $90 million, which is ridiculous, but with taxes and the factor of time…he’ll see about $40 million…if that. Julian, am I close on that one. Laws of depreciation are not my forte.
Still, two endorsements and a guaranteed contract for a starting position on an NBA team is rather lovely.