So when Kanye West said “Nike Gave LeBron a billi’ not to run away,” from his song “Facts” he wasn’t lying.
According to Maverick Carter, LeBron’s childhood friend and business partner, Nike really gave LeBron James over $1 billion for his lifetime deal.
During an interview with GQ, Carter talks about the deal, but doesn’t really go into detail about it, nor does he expose the exact amount of the deal.
How much was the deal for?
I can’t say.
Come on, Mav! Can you ballpark it?
What are people saying?
Kanye said a billion. So a billion.
[Maverick smiles and points one finger skyward.]
Holy shit.
Yeah. It’s a fantastic deal. Nike feels great about the deal. That’s the most important thing. As great as I feel, as great as LeBron feels—Nike feels fantastic about it. It’s the largest deal in the history of the company. Their hope is he makes even more. And our hope is that, too, obviously.
You can read the rest of the GQ interview here.