Personal life
James and former Heat teammateDwyane Wade tape a public service announcement with United States First Lady Michelle Obama in January 2014.
James proposed to Savannah Brinson, his high school sweetheart, on December 31, 2011 at a party celebrating New Year's Eve and his 27th birthday.[221] The two were married on September 14, 2013 in San Diego.[222] Together they have two sons, LeBron James, Jr. and Bryce Maximus James, and one daughter, Zhuri James.[223] During his tenure with the Heat, James resided in Coconut Grove, an affluent Miami neighborhood, where he bought a three-story mansion overlooking Biscayne Bay for $9 million.[224] He later listed the Miami property for $17 million after deciding to rejoin the Cavaliers.[225]
Business interests
James is represented by agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.[226] James' first agent was Aaron Goodwin, whom he left in 2005 for Leon Rose. Rose joined Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 2007, and he worked with fellow CAA agent Henry Thomas, who represented Wade and Bosh, to bring James to Miami in 2010. James left CAA for Paul in 2012.[227] James, Paul, Maverick Carter, and Randy Mims—all childhood friends— formed agent and sports-marketing company LRMR after James left Goodwin. LRMR handles James' marketing, and was criticized for its role in the marketing of The Decision.[228][229]
James has numerous endorsement contracts; some of the companies he does business with areAudemars Piguet,[230] Coca-Cola,[231] Dunkin' Brands,[232] McDonald's,[233] Nike,[231] State Farm,[234] and Samsung.[231] Coming out of high school, he was the target of a three-way bidding war between Nike, Reebok, and Adidas,[235] eventually signing with Nike for approximately $90 million.[236] His signature shoes have performed well for Nike, and in 2013 he led all NBA players in shoe sales.[237] In 2011, Fenway Sports Group became the sole global marketer of his rights, and as part of the deal, he was granted minority stakes in the English Premier League football club Liverpool F.C.[238] As a result of James' endorsement money and NBA salary, he has been listed as one of the world's highest-paid athletes.[239] In 2013, he surpassed Kobe Bryant as the highest paid basketball player in the world with earnings of $56.5 million.[240] In 2014, James realized a profit of more than $30 million as part of Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics; he had originally struck a deal to get a small stake in the company at its inception in exchange for promoting its headphones.[241]
James, with comedian Jimmy Kimmel, co-hosted the 2007 ESPY Awards.[242] In other comedic pursuits, he hosted the 33rd season premiere of Saturday Night Live.[243] In 2009, he was featured in the Lions Gate documentary More Than a Game, which chronicled his high school years.[244] He has also tried his hand at acting, appearing in a cameo role on the HBO series Entourage.[245] In 2014, he signed on to star as himself in the Judd Apatow film Trainwreck.[246] James is currently producing a Starz sitcom called Survivor's Remorse.[247]
Public image
James has been ranked by Forbes as one of the world's most influential athletes throughout his career.[248][249] Throughout his first tenure with the Cavaliers, he was adored by local fans, withSherwin-Williams displaying a giant Nike-produced banner of James on its world headquarters.[250] Despite their affection for James, Cleveland fans and critics were frequently annoyed when he attended Cleveland Indians games against the New York Yankees dressed in a Yankees hat.[251] Following his actions during the 2010 free agency period and, more specifically,The Decision, he was listed as one of the world's most disliked athletes.[252][253] By 2013, his image had mostly recovered and he was reported by ESPN as the most popular player in the NBA for the second time in his career.[254] In 2014, he was named the most popular male athlete in America by the Harris Poll.[255] He has led the league in jersey sales six times.[256]
A philanthropist, James is an active supporter of the Boys & Girls Club of America, Children's Defense Fund, and ONEXONE.[257] He has also established his own charity foundation called the LeBron James Family Foundation, based out of Akron.[258] Since 2005, the foundation has held an annual bike-a-thon in Akron to raise money for various causes.[259]
The WWI Destroy This Mad Brute poster and the April 2008 Vogue cover with James andGisele Bündchen, which critics said referenced the earlier poster.[260][261]
In March 2008, James became the first black man—and third man overall after Richard Gere and George Clooney—to appear on the cover of Vogue, posing withGisele Bündchen.[262] Some sports bloggers and columnists considered the cover offensive, describing the demeanor of James and his holding Bündchen as a reference to classic imagery of the movie monster King Kong, a dark savage capturing his light-skinned love interest.[260][261]
James has taken stances on controversial issues throughout his career, mentioning on several occasions a feeling of obligation to effect change using his status.[263] In 2007, he drew criticism when he declined to sign a petition started by his Cavaliers teammate Ira Newble regarding the Chinese government's alleged involvement in the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, stating that he did not know enough about the issue.[264][265] A year later, James did talk publicly about the issue, saying, "At the end of the day we're talking about human rights. And people should understand that human rights and people's lives are in jeopardy. We're not talking about contracts here. We're not talking about money. We're talking about people's lives being lost and that means a lot more to me than some money or a contract."[266][267] In June 2008, James donated $20,000 to a committee to elect Barack Obama.[268] Later that year, James gathered almost 20,000 people at the Quicken Loans Arena for a viewing of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's 30-minute American Stories, American Solutions television advertisement.[269] It was shown on a large screen above the stage, where Jay-Z later held a free concert.[269] In 2012, James gathered his Heat teammates for a group photo in hooded sweatshirts to bring awareness to the Trayvon Martin case.[270] In 2014, he reacted to alleged racist comments made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, saying, "There is no room for Donald Sterling in our league ... There is no room for him."[263] Later that year, he took public stances on the Michael Brown verdict and Eric Garner controversy. James and many fellow NBA players, such as Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, teammates Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love wore "I Can't Breathe" T-shirts in warm-ups before games to showcase their support to the Garnerfamily.[271][272]
