
LeBron James Signs Unprecedented Lifetime Contract with Nike - adventured
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-07/lebron-james-signs-unprecedented-lifetime-contract-with-nike
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danso
> _His lifetime deal with Nike could eventually become something similar to
> Michael Jordan’s. Jordan, 52, is officially the chief executive officer of
> the Jordan Brand, which continues to release new shoes. Sales of Air Jordan
> brand shoes topped $2.6 billion last year, according to Forbes._

I had to read that last figure twice...the first time, I thought it meant
_$2.6 billion total_ , which seems like a reasonable amount of revenue for one
line of shoes...but _per year_? Named for an athlete who has long been
retired? Half a billion for the next great player (though of course some don't
think LeBron will necessarily surpass Jordan's legend) seems like a bargain
for Nike.

~~~
nhebb
Hands down, Air Jordan is the best logo ever created. Designers might not
think so, but people bought $2.6 million worth of products last year just
because of it. It's hard to beat that.

~~~
zyxley
Incidentally, the logo is called "Jumpman", and it's actually based on Jordan
doing a ballet grand jeté to make it look like a more prodigious jump than his
usual style.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumpman_(logo)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumpman_\(logo\))

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zerocrat
For people thinking this not hacker news related. I thought so too, but
according to the guidelines it is.

> Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're
> evidence of some interesting new phenomenon.

Thanks for sharing OP.

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pbreit
I'm as impressed or more with Under Armour snagging Bryce Harper, Tom Brady,
Steph Curry and Jordan Spieth (arguably the top players in their sports
currently).

~~~
magic_man
Lebron sells more shoes than all those guys combined.

~~~
sharkweek
I dunno, Brady's Ugg game might have him topped... (kidding)

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VeejayRampay
Hasn't Derrick Rose signed a lifetime contract with Adidas a few years back?

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ps4fanboy
That is a lot of sneakers.

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keyle
Hacker, news?

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bibimbap1977
First of all how is this a hacker news? Second I've seen these shoes and I'm
no basketball buff but wtf?! Lebron nike shoes are so "UGLY or SUPER UGLY"
they're in no where near the cool designs of those Air Jordan shoes. That
Under Armour branded shoes those are cool. Peace out!

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jinst8gmi
Am I the only one who has never heard of him?

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daxfohl
"Air" Jordans will make me jump higher and win championships. "Something"
LeBron's will make me sound like a Buick.

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mifreewil
How can hackers profit from endorsement deals like this? If any software or
hardware marketers are interested, please get in touch.

~~~
mifreewil
Seriously? no sense of humor...

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Animats
Ah, Nike. The company with worse fanboys than Apple.

Nike managed to conceal the fact that Air Jordans were inflated with sulfur
hexafluoride, not air. They needed a big molecule that wouldn't slowly leak
through the bladder. It took them 14 years to come up with a bladder lining
that would hold nitrogen.

~~~
voltagex_
Might be better to cite sources with incendiary comments like this:
[http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2006-09-24/nike-goes-
for...](http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2006-09-24/nike-goes-for-the-
green)

No idea if they tried to "conceal" that though. Seems to be around the same
time CFCs were used in refrigeration.

