Even before his NBA debut, LeBron James was the most highly anticipated basketball asset coming out of ST. Vincent -ST. Mary High School. His frequent choice of the Adidas brand during school led many to believe the company was the front-runner to sign him. However, when it was time to finalize his agreement with the shoe brand, James signed with Nike. This decision sparked a partnership valued at over a billion dollars at the current time.
According to Sonny Vaccaro, a former sports marketing executive working for Adidas, the company initially planned to offer James $100 million. Vaccaro was known for his good spotting talent, and people trusted him. He even got the approval for a massive amount of money. But right before the year the contract was made, Adidas lowered it to $70 million with extra bonuses. This decision created an opening for Nike, which offered a $90 million guaranteed deal, and ultimately signed the young superstar.
Adidas’s Stepping Back From the Commitment Changed the Sneaker History
On the Ringer NBA show, Vaccaro shared the surprising moment when Adidas changed the terms of their offer. “When I sat down with Gloria James, Lebron’s lawyer, and Lebron himself, I saw the contract. It wasn’t $100 million. It was like $70 million (via The Ringer),” Vaccaro explained.
He quickly expressed his regret to the James family for the discrepancy. Their reaction was understated as they acknowledged the situation and continued their decision-making process without any argument.
Vaccaro remains convinced of Adidas‘s decision, stating it was a massive error for a company to fail to sign Lebron James. He believes that if Adidas had secured him, it would have fundamentally altered their brand’s global landscape. The missed opportunity continues to be a significant point of regret for Vaccaro.
Instead, Nike locked a partnership with a once-in-a-generation talent. Since then, they created a massive signature brand around James, a deal now worth over a billion dollars. While Adidas continued to have a player in the basketball shoe market with stars like Dwight Howard and Tracy McGrady, they never got a chance to sign another athlete with James’ impact.
With heavy disappointment, Vaccaro immediately resigned from Adidas. He later explained, “I couldn’t handle it. I just couldn’t do it. Because … I could not exist in that world if my word wasn’t good (via The Ringer).” The rest is sneaker history.
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