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LeBron James Plays His Part In Helping Liverpool Complete $95m Nike Kit Deal
As well as being, arguably, the best basketball player of his generation, LeBron James is also something of an astute businessman. He has his fingers in many pies in that regard and has proved very useful in his dealings as part of the Fenway Sports Group, which runs the Boston Red Sox, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Liverpool football club.
It turns out that his involvement with the Premier League team proved very useful in securing a big kit deal with sportswear behemoth Nike, with whom LeBron James has been closely linked with for a number of years.
LeBron James has shown a keen interest in football for some years and when it comes to betting trends, the worlds of NBA and soccer have some similarities, especially in relation to their respective live ‘in-play’ markets, where both revolve around single incidents having immediate impacts on relevant odds markets.
When it comes to the relationship between Liverpool and Nike, which began when the club took New Balance to court to end their deal ahead of the 2020/21 season, and it's a deal that's said to be worth in the region of £70m a year.
LeBron James has a lifetime deal with Nike, said to be worth in excess of $1 billion, and chairman of Liverpool, and co-founder of FSG Tom Werner, believes his connection to the football team helped pave the way for the big kit deal. Werner explained;
"It started when LeBron and I share a brilliant asset manager in Paul Wachter (an FSG partner), and Paul introduced us to LeBron and his partner Maverick Carter,"
"We're partners with Maverick, we're investors in SpringHill, which is Maverick and LeBron's entertainment company, and they are just crushing it when it comes to their growth in entertainment and brand partnerships. "
"We had a conversation a number of years ago with LeBron to see if we could help him with his marketing. I'm probably going back a dozen years, but LeBron said, 'you know what, let's become partners. He said, 'what I'd really rather do than get paid and pay you a certain sum of money is I'd like to be an investor in Liverpool.'"
Werner added that the partnership between LeBron and Liverpool, via Nike, will become even more intertwined;
"I'm always a little cautious about using the word synergy, but his partnership with Liverpool has resulted in our relationship with Nike, they now are our kit sponsor, and Nike is coming out with a number of branded products that connect LeBron James with Liverpool Football Club, and so these are opportunities to work with smart people."
LeBron invested around $6 million into Liverpool in 2011, and his share is now said to have risen to over $50m. Showing that not only does the NBA star know his way around a basketball court, he also knows all the angles when it comes to using his brand to increase value for himself and others he connects with.
Liverpool has made up ground on Premier League leaders Manchester City in recent weeks and now sit just six points behind their rivals, having played one game fewer than the reigning champions.
It turns out that his involvement with the Premier League team proved very useful in securing a big kit deal with sportswear behemoth Nike, with whom LeBron James has been closely linked with for a number of years.
LeBron James has shown a keen interest in football for some years and when it comes to betting trends, the worlds of NBA and soccer have some similarities, especially in relation to their respective live ‘in-play’ markets, where both revolve around single incidents having immediate impacts on relevant odds markets.
When it comes to the relationship between Liverpool and Nike, which began when the club took New Balance to court to end their deal ahead of the 2020/21 season, and it's a deal that's said to be worth in the region of £70m a year.
LeBron James has a lifetime deal with Nike, said to be worth in excess of $1 billion, and chairman of Liverpool, and co-founder of FSG Tom Werner, believes his connection to the football team helped pave the way for the big kit deal. Werner explained;
"It started when LeBron and I share a brilliant asset manager in Paul Wachter (an FSG partner), and Paul introduced us to LeBron and his partner Maverick Carter,"
"We're partners with Maverick, we're investors in SpringHill, which is Maverick and LeBron's entertainment company, and they are just crushing it when it comes to their growth in entertainment and brand partnerships. "
"We had a conversation a number of years ago with LeBron to see if we could help him with his marketing. I'm probably going back a dozen years, but LeBron said, 'you know what, let's become partners. He said, 'what I'd really rather do than get paid and pay you a certain sum of money is I'd like to be an investor in Liverpool.'"
Werner added that the partnership between LeBron and Liverpool, via Nike, will become even more intertwined;
"I'm always a little cautious about using the word synergy, but his partnership with Liverpool has resulted in our relationship with Nike, they now are our kit sponsor, and Nike is coming out with a number of branded products that connect LeBron James with Liverpool Football Club, and so these are opportunities to work with smart people."
LeBron invested around $6 million into Liverpool in 2011, and his share is now said to have risen to over $50m. Showing that not only does the NBA star know his way around a basketball court, he also knows all the angles when it comes to using his brand to increase value for himself and others he connects with.
Liverpool has made up ground on Premier League leaders Manchester City in recent weeks and now sit just six points behind their rivals, having played one game fewer than the reigning champions.
Written by Alan Spencer
