NBA superstar LeBron James plans on using his $42.2 million two-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, his $20 million a year sneakers contract with Nike, along with the other half-a-billion dollars he has earned since entering the league to build a Hollywood Empire.
Sitting in his Akron Ohio office nearby local street signs that read “Home of Lebron James,” the muscular six-foot-eight-inch small forward sat down with the Hollywood Reporter to share what’s going on with one of the world’s most celebrated athletes. The easily-recognized James says that he can’t say he misses anonymity, because it’s been awhile since he had it. “It’s been so long, I don’t remember,” he told the Reporter.
The NBA’s reigning “King James” is also well on his way to being recognized as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, often being compared with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Oscar Robertson. Since entering the league in 2003, Lebron has won two NBA Championships, captured four MVP awards, and made the NBA All-Star team 11 times.
With these achievements and profound riches, a less ambitious man may be planning his retirement, contemplating which island he plans to buy in the Caribbean to spend his post NBA years. Instead, James along with his friend and business partner Maverick Carter, sports agent Rich Paul, and another longtime friend Randy Mims, make plans for an entertainment conglomerate based on LeBron’s already established brand and values.
Long time Hollywood Agent Ari Emanuel, who signed James last year, praised the basketball icon and his sports agent, saying, “One of the great things about LeBron and Maverick is they’re still very curious. You can bring anything up; nothing’s a bad idea.”
Interscope and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine, has been impressed by Lebron in previous investor relations meetings. “LeBron’s got a business head about him. He doesn’t breathe his own exhaust, which is very important,” he remarked. And as far as Maverick and LeBron as a partnership, “They’re smart as all hell, and they have a feel for popular culture,” Iovine said.
Further, Iovine worked with James and Maverick producing More Than a Game, a documentary about LeBron’s high school career in 2008. “Sometimes you’ll have an athlete or a star who is so talented and the manager is out of control,” he asserted. “In this case, the whole team is in lockstep. They’re like a little army.”