LeBron James Nike Deal Worth Well Above a Billion According to Maverick Carter

LeBron James signed a lifetime contract with Nike late last year. Initial reports were that the deal was worth upwards of $500 million. The rumored value of the deal only climbed as a billion was quickly discussed. The only thing anyone knew for sure is that LeBron only knows Nike. Mav Carter recently sat down for a GQ Style interview where he suggested the deal was worth over a billion. Via GQ Style:

"GQ: How much was the deal for? MC: I can’t say."

"GQ: Come on, Mav! Can you ballpark it? MC: What are people saying? GQ: Kanye said a billion. So a billion. [Maverick smiles and points one finger skyward.]"

"GQ: Holy shit. MC: 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."

Maybe that’s why Nike won’t budge on their proposal to Ben Simmons? I guess we should ask Kanye.

Carter also commented on LeBron’s one-year NBA contracts.

"GQ: Why the year-by-year contracts? MC: Because…um…money. The salary cap is going up."

“Because…um… money,” is an all-time answer. I’ll have to assume that “duh” isn’t in Carter’s vocabulary.