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Everybody knows of LeBron James' impeccable decision-making on the court, but he has made some of his smartest calls off the NBA court.
LeBron James has defined a generation of NBA players and has dominated the league in the last decade, picking up 4 championships along the way. Even at 36, he is still putting up 25+ points a night, 7.9 rebounds and 7.9 assists. With Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond for company, 'the King' could well pick up his fifth ring this season.
For this article, though, we wanted to take a look at LeBron's smartest business decisions off the court. He is an extremely savvy businessman who continues to invest his earnings in various projects alongside business partner Maverick Carter. When he eventually does retire, James will have plenty of projects to keep him busy and will he be able to invest more time into the companies he has an interest in.
5 smartest business decisions of LeBron James' career
#1 Choosing Nike over Reebok
Of course, everybody who follows basketball has become accustomed to LeBron James' signature Nike shoes and it was only last year that the 36-year-old dropped his 18th pair.
However, it may not have been this way had a young James chosen to side with Reebok. As one of the most talked-about players in high-school basketball history, every sports company was eager to sign LeBron to a shoe deal prior to him joining the league.
Already sponsoring Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson at the time, Reebok came in with an offer of $115m for the then teenager, while Nike offered $87m. In hindsight, passing up on the extra $28m back then has undoubtedly proved to be LeBron James' smartest business decision.
After being with the company for 13 years, LeBron James put pen to paper on a lifetime deal with Nike in 2015 which has been estimated to be worth more than a billion dollars. What's more, Reebok no longer represents any NBA player. Now that's good business.
#2 Having a stake in Beats headphones
In an interview with Maverick Carter, LeBron James mentioned his deal with Nike as his best financial decision, alongside getting in early with Dr.Dre's Beats headphones.
In 2008, when Beats was beginning to dominate the headphone market, LeBron asked for a small stake in the firm and in return wore and promoted the products. At the Beijing Olympics, James gifted all of his US teammates a pair of headphones which became a walking marketing campaign for Beats. In 2014, Apple acquired Beats for a whopping $3bn with James netting an estimated $50m from the sale.
#3 Becoming a partner with Fenway Sports Group
LeBron has long made it known that he one day wishes to own an NBA team. Until then, he has settled for a stake in Liverpool F.C and that investment has just increased. At the beginning of April, FSG announced James had become a partner with the group, therefore his previous 2% stake in Liverpool would naturally increase and he would also acquire a stake in the Boston Red Sox.
Since the Fenway Sports Group took over Liverpool, the club's value has sky-rocketed. Ever since James' initial investment of $6.5m in 2011, his stake has increased per year and is estimated to now be worth over $43m. Liverpool are one of the most dominant club sides in the UK and Europe and in the previous 5 years have been to two Champions League finals and won the Premier League for the first time in the club's history last year.
#4 Springhill Entertainment
One investment LeBron James will be able to devote plenty of time to in his retirement is his production company, also based out of L.A., Springhill Entertainment.
Fans of basketball will be aware of the company's biggest project currently, Space Jam 2, which is due for release on the 16th of July 2021 in America. LeBron is set to star in the movie as the main character and is also on the team of producers.
After the company's contract with Warner Bros. expired in 2019, LeBron James penned a new deal with ABC studios and received investment of over $100m last year.
#5 Blaze Pizza chain
One of LeBron James' smartest business decisions was to increase his investment in pizza chain start-up Blaze in 2017. After his deal with McDonald's expired, the power forward turned down a new contract worth $15m to double-down on his investment with Blaze Pizza.
After initially being given 2 franchise locations, LeBron James now reportedly owns 21 restaurants as the chain has seen astronomical growth. The company plans to expand internationally and open over 100 more restaurants, through which LeBron's investment- already worth approximately $40m - is only going to increase.
Also read: Who is LeBron James' wife, Savannah James?
Guess the Lakers players!
