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St. Cloud State University
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James hype hitting the market hard
Published:
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Larry Eichel
Knight Ridder Newspapers
LeBron James doesn't lead the NBA in scoring or assists or rebounds. And his team is down near the bottom of the Central Division standings.
But already the 18-year-old rookie is at the top of the list in two key categories.
One is hype generated before playing a single game; in that regard, he's the all-time champ. The other is jersey sales, the ultimate expression of a player's popularity in an era when you are what you sell.
With nearly 500,000 shirts sold, he's ahead of everyone in the NBA, including Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and the gone-but-not-forgotten Michael Jordan. In all of American sports, he's number two, trailing only quarterback Michael Vick.
"The numbers are pretty heavy-duty," said Neil Schwartz of SportsScan Info, a Florida-based firm that tracks sales. "Overall, the sports-licensing business is up only 7 percent this year. But the NBA is up 90 percent, and what's driving that activity is LeBron. He is the X factor. He's what wasn't there last year."
That's the athletic and financial phenomenon of LeBron James.
Nike is investing $90 million over seven years in the young man in the expectation of making him the next Jordan, or the next best thing. Already, he is emulating Jordan in one respect, by selling tickets in his own town and selling out buildings around the league.
Consider, for instance, that the Sixers have three coming home games listed as sellouts as of now: the annual visit of the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 5 and the two contests against the Cavaliers, the first on Dec. 19, the second on March 26.
James has made an early imprint on the national psyche with his endorsement deals, the big one with Nike and smaller ones with Coca-Cola to endorse Sprite and Powerade and with Upper Deck for sports cards and memorabilia. He's been featured in Nike and Sprite commercials that were pegged to his debut.
Still to hit the market is his first shoe for Nike, the one that he's already wearing. The design of the $110 sneaker, bearing his LJ23 logo and the Air Zoom Generation label, is inspired by James' well-documented love for Hummers. It's due out Dec. 20, with quantities expected to be limited to help spur demand.
"It's going to take a while to see if he'll be a good deal for Nike," said John Horan, publisher of the Sporting Goods Intelligence newsletter in Glen Mills. "A year ago, people thought he'd get $25 million; he got $90 million. His appeal at this point is mostly with the kids. But that's who really buys the stuff."
There's no questioning, though, the impact he has had in and around Cleveland, where the Cavs have been one of the league's most forgettable teams the last few years.
Thanks to the coming of LeBron, the team will make at least 13 appearances on national television this year, a huge number for a medium-market team not expected to make the playoffs.
In sales of team-logo merchandise, the Cavs have moved from last to third, behind only the Lakers and the Sixers. At the team store, you can purchase a LeBron James poster or a LeBron James T-shirt. Not to mention a pennant, necklace, wall clock, trash can, coin set and various styles of jerseys.
James has sold out the Gund Arena, the league's third-largest with a capacity of 20,562, only twice in four tries. But after averaging a league-worst 11,497 last year, the Cavs expect to see an attendance increase of more than 50 percent this season.
And he's helped boost the self-image of an often-forgotten, blue-collar region with a sports history dominated by memorable near-misses, the most recent being Jose Mesa's failure to hold the lead in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series between the Indians and Marlins.
The town hasn't had a championship since the first incarnation of the Cleveland Browns won the NFL title in 1964, back before there was a Super Bowl.
"By land, by sea, by air, we've experienced positive change in every aspect of our business," said team president Len Komoroski. "LeBron is selling the Cavs, and he's selling Cleveland to the nation and the world."
While all the early signs are positive, James' future as a mover of merchandise depends heavily on his on-court performance. To become a figure with appeal to consumers who aren't avid basketball fans, LeBron will have to bring championships to Cleveland. Which isn't in the cards this season.
"Being a winner is essential in terms of his getting to the Jordanesque levels," said Doug Jacobs of Innovative Sports Marketing in Hoboken, N.J. "It's the only way to reach the casual fan and build on the image. Performances in the later stages of the playoffs are what people remember. A year from now, if Cleveland is still winning 20 games a season, it won't be the same for him."
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