Endorsements helps professional basketball players make tons of money. Sometimes, the professional players end up earning far more money throught endorsements than they do by playing. This is no surprise as the influence of these sports athletes is global and fans want to wear and eat the same as their favorite athletes.
These endorsement deals connect athletes with major brands that leverage the popularity of the sportsmen to sell their products globally like shoes, clothes and even food items. These agreements allow athletes to promote brands, appear in advertisements and help sell products of the brands.
Over the years, some pro-basketball players have signed massive endorsement deals that have often run into millions of dollars by partnering up them, the brands boost not just the athletes income but their companies market share and visibility.
The Top 4 Large Endorsement Deals are :
LeBron James
Brand: Nike (biggest deal)
LeBron James is one of the most marketable athletes in the world and his most significant endorsement deal has been with Nike and it happened before he even played a single professional game. He reportedly earns around 50 million dollars per year through his endorsement deals combined, Nike being the most lucrative of them all.
Annual Earnings from Endorsements: Over $50 million
Became a pro directly from high school; helped Cleveland win an NBA title.
Michael Jordan
Brand: Nike (Air Jordan)
Michael Jordan changed the way brands partnered with athletes. He had multiple offers from brands when he turned pro but he chose Nike. This was the decision that changed everything for him and the sports industry. Nike not only paid him to wear their shoes but offered him to create his own, which he did, and it was first released in 1985.
Rest is history. Eversince, Air Jordan sneakers have become a global sensation and are popular till date.
Annual Earnings: Over $100 million (still, despite retiring)
Chose Nike for its better terms and creative freedom to design his own sneakers.
Air Jordans remain iconic since their 1985 debut.
Kevin Durant
Brand: Foot Locker
Kevin Durant is another NBA star who has amassed great fortune frome endorsements thanks to his long term deals. He signed a massive ten year, 285 million dollar deal with Foot locker which has a combination of profit sharing and other incentives whose cured his palace amongst the most highly paid athletes.
Deal Details: 10 years, $285 million (signed in 2014)
Includes profit-sharing and other incentives.
Kobe Bryant
Brand: Nike (and others)
His legendary career is something that is talked about all the time. However, it is not just his career with Angeles Lakers that was huge, his earnings that have been over 600 million dollars from just Nike is mindboggling. Just two years before he retired, Kobe, signed another 75 million dollar five year contract with Nike. His influence and marketing abilities continued to make him a fortune.
Total Endorsement Earnings: Over $600 million
Post-retirement: Continued earning, including a $75 million Nike deal in 2014.
Important Financial Avenue for NBA Players
Endorsements have surely become one of the most important financial avenues for NBA Players. However, Nike takes the dominant place in showing how powerful it actually is with landing the best of the best and displaying long standing and successful athlete-brand partnership that spans over decades in the world of sports marketing.
These endorsement deals are much more than just mere business transactions. They are powerful collaborations that are shaping and have shaped the global sports culture. One, that is building legacies that will last for both, the athletes and the brands.
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