James ended up wearing 51 different editions of the LeBron 15 last season while with the CavsNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
LeBron James' signature shoe series is "expected to get a significant boost" from his move to the Lakers in free agency, according to Nick DePaula of ESPN.com. The combination of James' move and the "resurgence of his signature line after an incredibly successful year with the LeBron 15 has led to significant internal excitement at Nike heading into the launch of his 16th signature model." The LeBron 15, his primary shoe for the '17-18 season, "served as a bounce-back model after two down years created by the polarizing design of the LeBron 13 and the shortened design timeline of the LeBron 14, which was necessitated by a series of last-minute changes." James ended up "wearing 51 different editions of the LeBron 15" last season. That design flexibility "helped Nike deal with the uncertainty" of James' free agency decision. While planning the LeBron 16, Nike "decided not to develop a batch" of samples in the colors of potential suitors like the 76ers, Rockets, Lakers and Cavaliers. Instead, Nike "took a more team-agnostic approach" and focused on extending the #LeBronWatch concept, which was a "smash hit on social media as well as in the sales department." Basketball and sneaker fans were "buzzing on a nightly basis about what was on James' feet," whether it was the pairs inspired by classic Nike athletes like Ken Griffey Jr., Deion Sanders and Vince Carter, or the colorways "paying homage to Nike's Air Max 95 running shoe or a gleaming orange original shoebox color." The campaign "added a new energy and season-long interest that the line had been missing." The LeBron line now nets north of $350M annually and has become "far more than just the one annual signature model that it started out as." There is an "increasing appetite for retro LeBron sneakers" among fans (ESPN.com, 7/9).
LONG-TERM PLANNING: In Cleveland, Kevin Kleps noted on the business side for the Cavaliers, some of the "sting" of James' exit will be "eased by lucrative multiyear contracts that are already in place." One of the more notable contracts is a "complicated deal" with Goodyear for a jersey patch, which is "worth as much as" $10M per season. At the time of the deal, exposure value of the jersey patch was between $22.4-29.2M annually. Thirteen months later, the patch's annual value is between $14.7-16.7M. Sports sponsorship and analytics firm Apex Marketing Group President & Managing Partner Eric Smallwood said, "Those initial deals (that were struck when James was with the team) were at a maximum (price)." A source said that all of the Cavs' suite deals are "multiyear contracts," as are "those that cover floor seats and certain club-seat locations." A source said that the current multiyear cycle was "set up so fans in the premium seats would have their locations secured" when the renovated Quicken Loans Arena opened for the '19-20 season. But now it seems "consistent sellouts" will "be a thing of the past." The "success of the rebuild, or lack thereof, will determine" if the team can avoid the attendance drop seen when James left for the Heat in '10. A "safer assumption" seems to be that team revenues "could suffer as multiyear agreements expire and the asking price for new deals don't have James' name attached" (CRAIN'S CLEVELAND BUSINESS, 7/9 issue).
