LeBron's $4 Billion Ring
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – With each victory in the NBA Playoffs, LeBron James moves closer to adding his first championship ring to his hand. But a championship for LeBron would also add close to $4 billion to his top sponsor, Nike.
According to Bloomberg News, if LeBron wins a championship, it will bring Nike $4 billion from China alone. It would also push LeBron's status as a global marketing powerhouse to Michael Jordan-type levels.
Bloomberg said Nike posted a $1.96 billion sales figure in China in the last year. A championship could help push LeBron above the level of Kobe Bryant and push Nike's revenue from China into the neighborhood of $6 billion by 2020.
LeBron already is the top of the heap when it comes to having the best-selling jersey. He was the first player other than Kobe Bryant to have the most popular jersey on NBAStore.com.
Bloomberg said that James earns about $30 million per year from endorsement deals from Nike, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola, among others.
