In 1984, adidas refused to offer Michael Jordan the contract he wanted, and we know the rest. It’s even told in the movie Air, broadcast on Netflix. Nineteen years later, has the German firm done the same with LeBron James? That’s what Sonny Vaccaro, already active behind the scenes of Michael Jordan’s signing with Nike, told in 2016, and it’s confirmed today by new testimonies collected by Andscape.
A 100 million offer over 10 years for the young LeBron
After his masterstroke at Nike, Sonny Vaccaro occupied a very important position at adidas and as he often did throughout his career, in particular by sending Kobe Bryant to the brand with the three stripes, he took care of recruit the best prospects in the country.
In 2003, LeBron James was the most anticipated young basketball player in the world and it was only logical that Sonny Vaccaro tried to recruit him. His plan ? Offer him a new contract.
“You have to understand the context” he explained on the show The Ringer NBA Show. “Kobe (Bryant) had gotten $1.5 million a year with various perks in his contract. Tracy (McGrady) had approached something like 1.82 million. So the numbers were going up but no one was paying a huge amount either but adidas was doing well. So I convinced the executives to offer LeBron 100 million, 10 million a year, guaranteed. This amount was out of reach. No one had ever come close to it at that time. »
According to Sonny Vaccaro, no competing brand would have offered so much to LeBron James, certainly a gifted basketball player but still virgin of any NBA match. It was twenty years ago and if the money was already flowing, the amounts were not the same as today.
In addition, the NBA was just coming out of the new retirement of Michael Jordan and apart from a few stars like Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson or Vince Carter, it was difficult to project on the media impact of a player.
Still, according to him, Sonny Vaccaro manages to convince adidas to go all out on the star of St. Vincent-St. Mary. The firm pulls out all the stops with a magnificent booklet, a logo, and it invites the whole clan, with its teammates at the time.
“We were going to bet our whole future on this kid, LeBron” he continues. “There was no doubt that he was going to be courted but not to this height, nobody believed in him until 100 million. That, I am convinced of it (…) The leaders of adidas said yes. I would never have given her this if it hadn’t been for her. What would it have paid to lie? They said yes. »
adidas returns to the verbal agreement!
Why does Sonny Vaccaro talk about lies? Quite simply because once the time has come for LeBron James to initial the contract initially planned with adidas, the future rookie of the Cavaliers discovers, like Sonny Vaccaro, that its content does not comply with the agreement made.
“We welcome him and his whole team. Private jet, etc…” says the businessman. “We’re taking them to a Lakers playoff game. Malibu, a view of the Pacific Ocean, and we roll out our plan. The amount was supposed to be 100 million. I sit down with Gloria James (the player’s mother), LeBron’s lawyer, LeBron and all his clan. I see the contract. It wasn’t 100 million. It was something like 70 million with bonuses. »
Obviously, even if the sum remains enormous for ordinary mortals, and even for a young 18-year-old player, however exceptional he may be, a deal is a deal. However, this one not having been respected, the James clan crumples.
“It wasn’t so much about the money, 70 or 100 million, whatever it is, that’s still a lot of money, isn’t it? But you have to understand what it meant to me. The reason I’m respected is that when I say something, you can believe me. If we had a deal, we had a deal. Adidas changed the number behind my back. I will never forget that. We went to a corner of the mansion and I apologized to LeBron, Gloria. »
The mistake that changed everything?
What does adidas say? Here is the version of David Bond, vice-president of adidas in 2003, and former executive of Nike from 1992 to 2001. Sonny always said it would take $10 million guaranteed a year. The contract offer from adidas was around $7 million guaranteed, with a number of bonuses that raised up to $10 million a year. But not everything was guaranteed. He knew that Nike was going to go all out, with the whole contract guaranteed.
This former leader of adidas confirms this version, and for Sonny Vaccaro: “This is the stupidest mistake ever made in the history of negotiation. If he signs [avec adidas]the whole world is changing”.
This is confirmed by Aaron Goodwin, LeBron’s agent at the time. According to him, the former St Vincent–St Mary high school student was an absolute adidas fan. “The truth is, LeBron was a fan of adidas. They would have signed him if adidas had made the offer they were supposed to make” insists Goodwin. “I knew he wanted to be at adidas. LeBron wanted adidas until adidas screwed up in Malibu. Then he wanted Reebok because the amount was incredibly high. But I thought Nike was the only company that could build around it. »
The rest is known to all: LeBron James finally agrees with Nike for 90 million over seven years and then for 300 million over 10 years. Today, we are talking about a lifetime contract, worth more than… a billion dollars, and Nike represents nearly 90% of the basketball shoe market!
