In light of LeBron’s contract extension in Cleveland, David Sweet at MSNBC.com wonders if LeBron has cost himself a lot of endorsement money by staying in Cleveland, and also that the NBA will suffer for it.
It’s an interesting point, and I’m not a businessman, but… I can’t say I agree. It’s not like this is 1960, and if you wanted to see LeBron James play in that far outpost of Cleveland, the only way to get there was a 9-hour train ride, and then an 18-mile hike through snow-covered mountains inhabited by man-eating woolly mammoths. Basketball is on TV, there is this crazy thing called “the Internet,” and ABC, ESPN, and TNT, I do believe, will find their way to Cleveland to get this LeBron character on television. SportsCenter might even have a segment or two on him.
There may have been reasons that it was a bad idea for LeBron to sign in Cleveland, but I don’t know if I buy the major media market thing anymore. I don’t see Jamal Crawford and Channing Frye pulling in huge endorsement deals because they play for the Knicks. Brett Favre does pretty well with the endorsements, and he plays in Green fucking Bay. It’s just a smaller world now, and stars are going to be stars, no matter where they play. LeBron has more of an effect on Cleveland than Cleveland has on LeBron.
Dave's Football Blog
MLB* may be the only big sports league that still has “small market teams.” The NFL and NBA probably have so much TV money by now that there’s no such thing as a small market team anymore, and success depends almost entirely on how well a team is run, rather than how much cash it brings in. Hell, if you believe Nielsen, Cleveland’s a slightly bigger TV market (16th overall) than Miami (17th), where the Whiteshirts just won a title. (link) The “small market” argument just doesn’t apply here.
(* – Not counting the NHL, if you still think of it as a “big” sports league…)
July 11, 2006 at 10:15 am
Chucky Atkins Jr.
I don’t really have anything to add, except that I agree with both of you. The world is a smaller place thanks to technology and due to the relative importance of sports in our society, LeBron would still get plenty of exposure whether he’s playing in New York or Fargo. Plus, doesn’t it seem like a better angle for everyone involved to have LeBron playing for what is essentially his hometown team. The way that that draft worked out for Cleveland seemed like the type of thing that only happens in sports movies nowadays. Sports fans like that romantic shit. It would suck for EVERYONE except the Knicks if LeBron left Cleveland.
July 11, 2006 at 10:52 am
SLaird22
$80 million goes alot further in Cleveland than $100 million does in NY. Plus, you get to stay close to home and become an absolute legend loved by all within 200 miles? Can’t beat that.
July 11, 2006 at 4:11 pm