JUST IN: Move Over Jordan, LeBron Gets Biggest Nike Endorsement

Basketball superstar LeBron James has signed a lifetime deal with sports wear giant Nike.

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Lebron James with his fans

The company known for famously making Jordan shoes even years after the various retirements of one of sport’s biggest players in the person of Michael Jordan has signed a lifetime deal with arguably this generation’s biggest star, LeBron James. The deal is the largest single-athlete deal in Nike’s 44-year history. It also marks the first time that Nike has officially given a lifetime deal.

Prior to this deal, James had signed a seven-year, $90 million contract with Nike even before he was drafted to his first NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. That deal was re-signed with in 2010 and saw the athlete earn as much as $30 million annually.

James has had his own signature shoe line with Nike since his first season in the league, and is the highest in sales among active players at $340 million per year, according to Forbes.

This comes at the heel of a series of recent successful business ventures for the star including a $15.8 million investment from Time Warner Cable in his media company.

Nike is arguably the biggest and most known sportswear maker in the world.