By Brett Pickert

LeBron James has become the first athlete to sign a lifetime to deal to Nike. Terms have not been disclosed but James is part of the Swoosh for life.

James has been signed to Nike since his rookie year in 2003. Signing the largest athlete deal at the time, 7-year $90 million. In 2010, James and Nike signed an additional 9 years. 4 years into that 9-year extension, Nike decided to keep the King happy for eternity.

Other brands have signed athletes to lifetime contracts, adidas with Derrick Rose and Allen Iverson with Reebok. According to a source close to the deal, this LeBron James contract dwarves Kevin Durant’s 10-year $300 million signed over the summer.


What does this mean for the sneaker community?

Hopefully this means we’ll finally see LeBron James signature sneakers receive the retro treatment. There are so many great pairs that can be rocked from the King’s court. The Air Zoom Generation, LeBron 4, LeBron 9, just to name a few of the 13 signature arsenal. This doesn’t even include the “Soldier” series.

Compared to the infamous Air Jordan line, the LeBrons could live up to the hype of his de-facto Nike successor. Michael Jordan’s signature kicks have been in the height of popularity more than a decade after his third retirement. Even with the degrading quality and inflation of prices, Jordans sit at the top of basketball sneaker popularity. The question for Nike is, will the Nike LeBrons retain the quality as the original releases?