More Than an Athlete: LeBron James and the Power Shift in Sports.
Written: Kekoa O’Neil
Contributor | Sideline Society Media
When an athlete is on the verge of retirement the biggest question they must ask themselves is, “what’s next?” Many athletes struggle heavily to answer this question leaving them with no plan post career. This has led to many athletes not being able to find their sense of purpose when a routine they have followed for so long suddenly ends. What we are seeing more nowadays is athletes exploring their post career options while still being an active player so that they are set once retirement hits.
There is no better example of this than Lebron James who has spent nearly his whole 23 year career perfecting his craft on the court and what life will look like for him once that is finished. Lebron has a net worth over $1 billion putting him in rarefied air with only Tiger Woods and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only others to reach billionaire status while still competing at the highest level.
He has created such an empire through strategic investments and ownership outside of basketball including the SpringHill Company (media/production), Fenway Sports Group (Liverpool FC, Boston Red Sox), Blaze Pizza and much more. Most notably was him building the IPromise school back in his hometown of Akron Ohio. Not only is the I Promise school public, but it is specifically aimed at children who may be considered at risk. Opening with students attending the third and fourth grade, in 2022 the school had fully opened to expand to now teaching grades 1 through 8.
Other notable investments by Lebron include Beats by Dre and Ladder which is a sports nutrition brand founded by him and his trainer Mike Mancias. He also co-hosts the Mind The Game podcast with Steve Nash and previously did so with JJ Redick. Many people are behind the belief that the podcast helped land Redick his job of being head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. While Lebron is a Hall of Famer for what he has done on the court, if there was a separate Hall of Fame for setting up your career post retirement also, he would be in there for that as well.
It’s not easy to do what Lebron has in terms of setting himself up to become a billionaire.
Many athletes should look to him as inspiration for how to set yourself up for life after sports.
Life post retirement is real and something that is a constant struggle for many athletes to deal with.
Lebron figured this out early on in his career, got to work and will be ready to live comfortably once he decides to call it quits and retire from the NBA.
Lebron James founded SpringHill Company along with Co-Founder Maverick Carter his longtime childhood friend.
Lebron James and Steve Nash co-hosting Mind The Game podcast with their special guest Stephen Curry.
Beats By Dre and Lebron James has had a long standing partnership since 2008.
LeBron James secured a historic lifetime partnership with Nike in 2015 reportedly worth over $1 billion becoming the first athlete in the company’s history to earn a deal of that magnitude.
