This guy is on top of the world. Best player in his sport and now, according to SoleCollector, LeBron James is the top endorser in all of sport.
Coming in at No. 1 in the athlete brand category is LeBron James, who pulled in $53 million off of the basketball court this year and has a personal brand valued to be worth $37 million. That figure is $10 million more than where Forbes had LeBron in 2013, topping the likes of Tiger Woods and Roger Federer.
Telling by that top three of valuable athlete brands, it comes without surprise, Nike came in at the No. 1 business for the third straight year. According to Forbes, the Swoosh is worth about $19 billion, which is roughly $2 billion more than it was last year.
I am not surprised. Tiger Woods has regressed the past couple of years and Roger Federer is a boss. But the money that is going into basketball right now is dwarfing Tennis. And I like Tennis.
LeBron James is a phenomenon if I’ve ever seen one. He doesn’t even wear his LeBron 12’s! Last year he preferred the Zoom Soldier VII’s over the LeBron 11’s yet they sold like hot cakes.
Love him or hate him. The business partnership LeBron James has with Nike is the greatest we’ve seen excluding the Jordan Brand. Expect him to own the endorsement market for years to come.
