LeBron James' move from the Miami Heat to the Cleveland Cavaliers
this summer was only the beginning of a monumentally busy offseason for
the National Basketball Association star.
Wife Savannah Brinson is expecting their third child – their first
daughter – any day. And on Tuesday, James was at Nike's headquarters
near Beaverton to unveil the 12
th edition of his signature hightop sneaker.
It's big business for Nike, and for James, 29. His endorsement
contract with the shoemaker is worth $20 million annually – nearly as
much as his contract with the Cavaliers. Reports put the price tag on
the new shoe, which will be released in retail stores Oct. 11, at $200 a
pair.
The stakes are high commercially, and athletically. James only wore
his last shoe, the LeBron 11, intermittently last season and he
acknowledged Tuesday that there were issues with the fit.
On Tuesday, though, James and Nike were very much on the same page,
showing off the new, neon-colored LeBron 12, engineered with a hexagonal
sole in place of the waffle pattern that defined Nike's early running
shoes.
"The new technology is lightweight," James said. "It allows me to explode. When I'm landing it allows me to absorb the landing."
Nike said a player landing after a 32-inch vertical leap (James has a
40-inch vertical) can create force 10 times that of the athlete's body
weight. The company boasts that its hexagonal pattern, on a sole
composed of air and fiber, distributes that impact.
The shoe Nike showed off Tuesday has an aqua-green mesh, an orange
border on the black Nike Swoosh, and pastel hexagons on the sole. But
James said that's not necessarily the color scheme he'll be wearing on
opening day – the NBA has strict guidelines that mute colors on uniforms
and shoes.
This week's visit provides an opportunity for Nike and James to
compare notes, to map out a marketing strategy for the coming year and
to talk about what works – and what doesn't – in its shoes. James
declined to go into details about issues with the LeBron 11, but said
that both parties took that shoe's shortcomings very seriously.
"It hurt both of us because we loved the shoe so much, the 11, but it
wasn't performing the way we wanted it to perform at a high level," he
said.
That trouble informed the design of the LeBron 12, James said
Tuesday. He said he has been working out in the new shoes for more than
three weeks and has been pleased with the early results.
Also this summer, James said, he went on a strict, 67-day diet to test his mental fortitude.
"I had no sugars. No dairy. I had no carbs. All I ate was meat, fish, veggies and fruit," James said.
"I lost a ton of weight," he said -- something most dieters would
welcome, but a change that isn't ideal for an NBA forward. "Hopefully I
can pick a couple pounds back up."
In dollar terms, James is worth more to Nike than the company's chief
executive (Mark Parker, who did not speak at Tuesday's event, made
about $15 million last year, $5 million less than the company reportedly
paid James).
Of course, NBA teams' spending is constrained by a salary cap.
There's no cap on what footwear companies can spend on their endorsement
contracts.
Indeed, Nike regulatory filings indicate the company will spend close
to $1 billion on endorsement contracts this year. It's a key element of
the company's image, which is just as important to Nike as the actual
shoes and apparel it sells.
As the company says in its notes to investors, Nike's "iconic brands
have worldwide recognition, and our success depends on our ability to
maintain and enhance our brand image and reputation."
Nike's shoe releases have been a cultural event since the first Air
Jordans hit the market in 1985. And the cluster of press from around the
country and around the globe fawning over the LeBron sneakers is a
testament to continued enthusiasm that rivals, among some, movie or
video game releases.
After choosing to leave the Miami Heat during the offseason and
return to his hometown Cavaliers, James publicly debated whether to
return to wearing the number he last wore in Cleveland, No. 23. He said
he was weighing whether that number should be reserved for Michael
Jordan.
On Tuesday, James said he continues to look to Jordan for inspiration – on and off the court: "Follow the blueprint."
"Hopefully someday I can get to that point where I have my own
standalone brand where I can sign other athletes that fit my motto,"
James said. "But at the end of the day, playing basketball and winning
is the No. 1 thing. And that's what I learned from Mike."
A grandfather shot dead his daughter and her six
children before taking his own life at a home in Bell, Florida, police
have said. 
