The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that LeBron James and McDonald’s teamed up to film a Super Bowl ad that includes Larry Bird and Dwight Howard. James and McDonald’s have been in talks about a deal for several years and it looks like it finally happened despite the lousy environment for sports sponsorship deals. It is the first new sponsor in the James’ portfolio since he signed with State Farm Insurance at the beginning of 2008. The deal which is likely worth $3-4 million annually replaces the income for two James’ endorsement deals that expired over the past 15 months: Microsoft and Cub Cadet.
The deal cements James as the NBA’s endorsement king along with Kobe Bryant. They are the only two current NBA stars to earn more than $20 million annually from sponsors. The NBA’s last two MVPs have a long way to go though to catch Michael Jordan who still earns more than $40 million annually thanks to the Jordan Brand which is now a $1 billion brand (annual sales) for Nike. Click Here For More!
