“Signing With Nike Is The Best Business Decision I Have Made”: LeBron James Was Tempted To Sign With Reebok Following $10M Offer, He’s Happy He Chose The Swoosh

At the age of 18 LeBron James had the world at his feet. Not only was he the projected and unquestioned No. 1 overall pick in 2003, he was also courted heavily by all the big shoe brands.

That’s right Nike, Reebok and Adidas were all vying to sign “The King” to a record shoe deal. While James eventually settled on Nike it was far from an easy choice. 

During his recent appearance on the “New Heights” hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce, James revealed to everyone that he was offered life-changing money at 18 to sign with Reebok.

The catch was he couldn’t take meetings with any other shoe brand, and that for James wasn’t something he was willing to do without at least hearing their pitches. And 22 years later it was the best move for him in the long term.

James Signs With Nike Despite Huge Reebok Offer

For James trying to decide between the three major shoe brands was no easy feat, and when Reebok offered him $10 million to not take any other meetings it became an even harder decision. James even said that they made the most compelling pitch, which was definitely aided by the huge check offered. 

 “I’m sitting across from the table. I’m a senior in high school. … I’m going back to class the next day. They flew me in. I’m going back to St. Vincent-St. Mary the next day, my senior year, and the guy slides over a check to me at the end of the table. It’s me, my mom, and Maverick Carter, at the end of the table, and he says, ‘If you don’t go talk to any other companies, this is yours.’ And I look at it, $10 million f-cking dollars,” James recalled.

 “Me and my mom were living in an apartment — Section 8 housing in Akron. I’m going back. I don’t have sh-t whatever, and my mom looked at me. She said, ‘Son, trust your gut. If they’re offering you this, then who knows what the other companies may offer you,’” James continued. “She’s super composed. She’s like, ‘We ain’t got sh-t already, so it’s not like it changes our life in this moment. Maybe in the future, but I want you to trust your gut and do what you think is right.’”

After a break to weigh his options, James decided to decline because he wanted to hear what Nike had to say. James mentioned that throughout middle school until late in his high school career Adidas, whom he was pretty fond of, was in heavy rotation.

“It was Adidas from seventh, eighth grade to pretty much my junior and senior year. They sponsored us. Every year, we played in all the Adidas tournaments,” he said on the podcast.

Michael Jordan And Penny Hardaway Played Role In Nike Landing James

For years James has bragged on his relationship Nike. In fact, in a 2018 interview he said:  

“Signing with Nike is the best business decision I have made.”

RELATED: Believe The Hype: LeBron James 

Seeing the aforementioned Jordan and Hardaway, two players who inspired by having such great success with the brand also played a role in James’ decision. In 2003 James signed a seven-year, $87 million deal with Nike despite being offered $115 million by Reebok. In the end he made the right choice because in 2015 he signed a lifetime deal with the iconic “swoosh,” worth over $1 billion in earnings. 

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