Since the deal was announced late last year, the rumors surrounding the dollar amount of LeBron James‘ now famous lifetime deal with Nike have been up for debate.
Kanye West, of course, stated in “Facts” that the deal was worth $1 billion. But aside from his grandiose statement, no real details of the deal had actually been confirmed. But today, in a new interview with GQ Magazine, James’ manager Maverick Carter indeed confirmed that the deal exceeds the presumed $1 billion mark.
Labeled the largest endorsement contract in history, Carter had this to say about the lifetime Swoosh deal to GQ’s Mark Anthony Green, “It’s a fantastic deal. Nike feels great about the deal. That’s the most important thing. As great as I feel, as great as LeBron feels — Nike feels fantastic about it. It’s the largest deal in the history of the company. Their hope is he makes even more. And our hope is that, too, obviously.”
Check out the full interview here and peep a few excerpts below.
How much was the deal for?
I can’t say.
Come on, Mav! Can you ballpark it?
What are people saying?
Kanye said a billion. So a billion.
[Maverick smiles and points one finger skyward.]
Holy sh*t.
Yeah. It’s a fantastic deal. Nike feels great about the deal. That’s the most important thing. As great as I feel, as great as LeBron feels—Nike feels fantastic about it. It’s the largest deal in the history of the company. Their hope is he makes even more. And our hope is that, too, obviously.
