Basketball great LeBron James is taking his commitment with Liverpool FC further, with the shareholder set to release a line of products with the Merseyside club and Nike.
The project aims to rival Nike’s relationship with Air Jordan, having become more prevalent in football through the recent successful collaborations with Paris Saint Germain, boosting the Parisians off-field credibility in the process.
Speaking to the Boston Globe, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner stated, ‘We’re doing a product line with LeBron and Liverpool. Nike is creating seven or eight products that connect LeBron with soccer and rival the connection that Michael Jordan has with Nike.’
James has accelerated his business ventures since first investing in Liverpool with a 2% stake in 2011, which he bought for £4.7m. However, a $750million investment from RedBird Capital partners in March meant that the original 2% was converted to a 1% share of FSG’s entire conglomerate.
Since The Reds made the switch from New Balance to Nike in Summer 2020, LeBron has been pictured donning LFC wear on multiple occasions, most notably showcasing this season’s new tracksuit at the opening of his Innovation Centre in October.
While the products may not rival Jumpman and Swoosh to start with, the names at Nike’s disposal could certainly aid in the long term, with Drake and Serena Williams rumoured to be a part of the promotion strategy for The Reds merchandise.
With a plethora of teams dropping fourth kits this season and Klopp’s men still in every European and Domestic competition, could we see a LeBron x Liverpool link up in this season?
