LeBron Nike Contract?

[chungbob89]

whether or not lebron will re-sign with Nike, only time will tell...but one thing is for sure, Nike and lebron have made such an impact together that one wouldsay he IS the face of Nike (as for the NBA, to each his own opinion, especially with Kobe involved) and this moment. After seeing Kidd leave for PEAK (I tearjust thinking about it), KG, Duncan and many other leaving for adidas, I really wouldn't be surprised if lebron left (sadly enough, history has proven thatMONEY TALKS). If he did leave (God forbid), I personally wouldn't drop a dime on any of his new sigs unless they looked drop dead gorgeous LOL. Then again,that's just how stuck I am on Nike. All this is coming from a die-hard lebron fan

PS: and am I the only person on here who thinks the wht/blk/red lebron III's are the best thing since the Jordan III's!?!? (comparatively speaking froma Jordan-Lebron stand point.lol) Those bad boys are straight FIRE!! (even with jeans). Plus the wht/blk/red colorway is rapidly getting harder and harder tofind.

 

[memphisboi55]

^

all black/wht azg's > those 3s

 

[bubbaela1]

after the lebron contract nike will not and has not given anyone close to that kind of $$$ because it is simply not worth the investment or even close to theinvestment. They grossly overpaid for what the assumed Lebron would bring in as far as shoe sales and merch. Lebron is one of the top players in the game buteven if he solidifies himself as #1 like Jordan did his shoes and apparel will never sell like Jordan. That why Nike isnt giving any basketball players hugecontracts. Look at the elite class of rookies that came in this year. Alleged to be potentially one of the best classes ever. None of those guys got paid hugemoney in terms of what nike/Jordan Brand/adidas-reebok have paid in the past.

 

[nkestyl]

Lebron VI has been the best commercial to date. He will be a career Nike guy hell I bet the next Corporate building will have his name on it. Can't wait tocop the LA Bron this month.

 

[jman8811]

Does anyone think that if the shoes were designed with more influences as the jordan line that they would sell better?

 

[chungbob89]

^^oh yes, I most def think so. That just goes to show you why Tinker was just so great and WAY ahead of his time

 

[limitedkix]

Brooklyn Here we come...LOL

 

[shortyc94]

This post has been a really good read.

It's just dumb though to think that LeBron is not selling shoes because he doesn't have an NBA title. I don't know about you, but I can think ofplenty of past and present Nike/JB/Converse endorsers that have rings and their shoes don't sell squat.

The Adidas Kobe 1 and 2 didn't sell at all, and Kobe had titles.
Tim Duncan had 2 sigs after the Total Air Foamposite Max that didn't sell.
Since D'Wayne Wade won his ring in 2006, have you seen any mall in any part of the US have a riot over the Wade 1.3, 2.0 or 3???
When Scottie Pippen was sporting a Houston Rockets or Portland Trailblazers jersey instead of a Chicago Bulls one, did his shoes sell any better? He had sixrings.

If rings mattered like that, MJ and Nike would've never surpassed Converse (who had pretty much every other NBA star other than Jordan, Barkley, Gervin,Moses (The last two were in the twilights of their careers), and a bunch of "unprovens". By 1988, Magic had 5 rings, Larry Bird had 2, and Dr. J (whowas the face of Converse before Magic and Bird) had one.

It's not about the rings. Some of MJ's best sigs came before he finally broke through the Pistons and Lakers and won his first ring in his 7th season.

Like others have said, with LeBron, I don't think it's him being a big man, it's simply the look and price point of his shoes. His first 3 sigswere good as far as casual wear. The LeBron 4 was a great shoe and was good casually in certain colorways, but the fact that it was 150 (I understand that abig part of it costing that much was that it was a foamposite, but does the average shoe consumer even know what foamposite is???), hurt it.

In my opinion, $125 is the perfect price point for him, the LeBron 5 and 6 have no reason to be $140.

They also have so many special make ups of LeBrons that the majority of us can't get. There are only a few HOH locations, and if I remember correctly, partof the appeal of having the Jordans was being able to turn on NBC or WGN or whatever station the Bulls were on and see MJ in the same shoe you'd have onyour feet. I haven't seen LeBron wear a lot of GR's since the LeBron 3. They need to do something about that. I haven't seen him wear theBlack/White/Red since November, and I've only seen him wear the "Batmans" once.

 

[hugree]

^Good point, but in the past 2 years he's been wearing much more GRs than PEs. Same thing this year... and btw... even his VI PEs won't stay a PEforever

 

[prp83]

Nike won't Lebron be a free agent. I bet an extension is already or has been in the works to keep him for another 7 years. Nike won't risk losing aplayer just scratching his prime.

 

[codeivc]

lebrons shoes never really appealed to me that much, added to the fact of how much they cost.. no brainer deal breaker.

but i agree wit eryone else sayin nike will never let him go, but once nike starts makin wades shoes, lebron's profitability is gonna tank even more.sometimes it is about the athlete.

 

[babyfacedassassin31]

Alot of u guys are missing the point to why Lebron doesnt sell as many shoes as Jordan did and why they dont look great with jeans as a casual shoe.

MJ wasa finesse athlete everything about him was poetry in motion he was long lean great athletic build and his game reflected his athleticism it was beautifulto watch Michael play hence his shoes reflected himself and his game the further into his career he got they were sleak polished great all round sneakers likethe man himself.

When it comes to Lebron were talking about a guy whos changed the game from the standpoint of his size/stature and doing the things that he does on thecourt,the guys built like Karl Malone but playing the guard/small forward position and although hes unstopable his game is not finesse and beauty, Lebrons gameis power hes a freight train hes a beast on the court and his shoes are designed the same way to reflect his game and his needs as a player.

Lebrons shoes are big tough tanks of a sneaker built to withstand the pounding that hes gonna give them based on his size and how mobile he is the shoe has tobe solid and take the punishment hes gonna give them for 48 minutes.That is why his shoes dont look great because there built on function first looks secondunfortunatley the public buys things mainly from a looks perspective first hence the backlash for the Jordan 2009 so I beleive alot of Lebrons dont sell justfor the fact that to most of the non basketball public there ugly big shoes.

How many of us on this board see pics of a shoe and right there say yay or nay to wether were gonna purchase it? alot,me personally I play ball in 99% ofbasketball kicks I buy be they retros or current releases but if there ugly to me im unlikely to even try them on and give them a chance.

Kobes shoes sell because Kobe had built a major following from his play plus championships b4 he ever signed with Nike so there was never any marketing toreally be done he was already a superstar with a following that being said Nike have produced some great looking and functional shoes for Kobe and Kobe shoesales arnt really gonna drop.

Id love to see Wade leave Converse n wear Nike but I just cant see it happening but if he were a Nike athlete with a sig shoe id expect wed see something morelike a Jordan shoe just because of the way he plays the game and carrys himself.

Peace
Scottie

 

[rockdeep]

I believe if you took a small piece of everyones thoughts you have the reason Brons shoes don't sell and why nike thought signing him to the money they didwas necessary, just like talking MJ into wearing Jordans.

What you guys see on the surface doesn't even begin to show the absurd fashion in which Brons line is handled by Nike. You would think EVEN if Lebronwasn't a Brand like MJ he would have a Dedicated TEAM of folks ONLY working HIS line..

Not sharing duties with other things within Nike. This in and of itself lends to not having the focus Nike needs to make him a REAL Priority. Just saying he isdoesn't really MAKE him one. Look at Kobe. Does he get the shine from Nike Lebron does? Of course not.

but look at his Value in Asia and how its rised in the States since his debacle in Colorado. WITHOUT much PR and without much Fanfare. he has actually GAINEDby losing.

When the LEAD dogs in Nike Basketball who make the decisions to actually FIX the situation and how its handled and not Bandage it as they go along. Bron WONTbe where he should be UNTIL he wins a Chip and maybe not even then because HOW the strategy of selling his shoe is key.

I learned while in the Beav that the biz is cut throat and folks will do what they have to in order to keep their job and make something appear as it was theiridea.. Even if they call or email you to ask what the buzz is and what YOU think could be done.

But its ALL about execution.. not just hearing the ideas or reading the Decks.

ANYONE could tell TWO people they need to go do something. Both people can either ASK the best way to do it from that person OR assume , guess or hap hazardlyattempt to accomplish it themselves without direction.

Thats when they fail.

The cliche "If you want it done right you have to do it yourself" came from somewhere.

Everyone AROUND Nike knows what HAS to happen. But many just don't have the tools to MAKE it happen but are still in the same positions.

 

[jbrist33]

Will never be another JB and people need to stop getting on that kick