Posted by Bonn1997:

$135 mil for 6 years plus endorsements playing in Ohio
OR $105 mil for 5 years plus endorsements in NYC. I guarantee you Lebron comes out ahead financially by a landslide if he makes the latter choice.

Posted by djsunyc:

Posted by Bonn1997:

$135 mil for 6 years plus endorsements playing in Ohio
OR $105 mil for 5 years plus endorsements in NYC. I guarantee you Lebron comes out ahead financially by a landslide if he makes the latter choice.

this does not apply to lebron b/c he is bigger than the game...

Posted by GallOfFame:

The endorsement myth is just that a myth. Endorsement dollars are dropping. Lebron and major name athletes aren't selling because the economy is down. You don't make up $30mil just by coming to New York plus he can set his contract up to opt in 3yrs again anyway and see where the new CBA is at. There are many major athletes who don't play in major markets and are marketable to a large degree....Peyton Manning being one of them. I bet he still is/was more popular than his brother even after his brother won a chip. Please stop it with this ridiculous notion if numbers aren't actually being presented.

Posted by martin:

Posted by GallOfFame:

The endorsement myth is just that a myth. Endorsement dollars are dropping. Lebron and major name athletes aren't selling because the economy is down. You don't make up $30mil just by coming to New York plus he can set his contract up to opt in 3yrs again anyway and see where the new CBA is at. There are many major athletes who don't play in major markets and are marketable to a large degree....Peyton Manning being one of them. I bet he still is/was more popular than his brother even after his brother won a chip. Please stop it with this ridiculous notion if numbers aren't actually being presented.

LeBron made an estimated $25M in 2007 through endorsements.

"His Nike shoe and apparel sales have been just average, which means not very good," said Matt Powell, an analyst at SportsOne Source, which tracks sporting goods sales. "It is the same for jersey sales."

The NBA does not release actual numbers, but in its most recent rankings James is just third worldwide in replica jersey sales. In Europe, he ranks fourth. In China -- where James and Nike have focused their efforts with specialized campaigns, including games or promotional tours in each of the past four years -- James ranks fifth. The Celtics' Kevin Garnett and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant rank ahead of him in each list.

Posted by JohnWallace44:

Doesn't LeBron have an automatic salary escalator built in to his Nike contract if he were to play in NY?

Great news that the Brooklyn stadium won't be ready until after 2010.

Nike Won't Pay LeBron James a Bonus For Joining the Knicks

Posted Nov 26th 2008 6:20PM by Nate Jones (author feed)

Filed Under: Cavaliers, Knicks, NBA Rumors
With everyone convinced that LeBron James will leave Cleveland for the New York Knicks during the summer of 2010, there have been all sorts of rumors that have come about to explain his desire to leave. One of them is the belief that he will receive more money from Nike if he plays in New York. The thinking behind this is that it would be much more advantageous for Nike to have LeBron playing in the country's largest market and the world's basketball mecca.

Today CNBC's Darren Rovell stepped up to the plate and killed all notions of that rumor. Here's the scoop:

The $100 million number is LeBron's total contract that includes a $10 million signing bonus. There are other bonuses, royalties and incentives, but there is no New York, Chicago or L.A. market incentive.

Even if LeBron did have the New York clause in his contract it would be done by the time his contract expired. James' original deal is a seven year deal, meaning it ends at the end of the 2009-10 season, before he would have a chance to go to New York.

Rovell eventually goes into something about how LeBron hasn't been really moving product for Nike and how he likely won't be able to make more than what he's making from Nike now even if he goes to New York.

Even without incentives in his current deal, I tend to think that Nike could put pressure on LeBron into moving to New York or a large market. LeBron is one of the top two players in the league, yet Stephon Marbury often gets way more media coverage than him. Stephon Marbury would be a nobody in Cleveland, but because he plays (eh, I mean sits on the bench) in New York, his every move gets a ton of media coverage. Even in a internet based, more flat world MSM media coverage is king. That kind of coverage and exposure has to be appealing to Nike.

Also, from all accounts, head of Nike Basketball, Lynn Merritt, has a big influence in the everyday workings of LeBron, inc. In fact, LeBron's friend/Marketing agent Maverick Carter came up as an intern under Merrit. So despite the lack of financial incentives, don't be surprised if Nike does nudge LeBron in the direction of NYC.

Posted by Andrew:

I think shoe sales are down because people are pushing fakes on internet message boards.