Think what you want about Bronny James’ NBA prospects, one thing that isn’t a question is his entrepreneurial spirit, much like his father, LeBron James. But before Bronny gets anywhere close to the NBA, he’s taking his talents to the undergarments business.
The Sierra Canyon high school junior has signed a deal with PSD underwear and will have his own signature collection to be released later this year.
This is likely just the beginning for Bronny, who will be preparing for college this time next year. Whatever school James ends up attending in fall 2023, there will be multiple endorsement offers lined up and waiting for him just because of his lineage. That’s no slight toward the young man who is a good basketball player in his own right (247Sports’ Composite Rankings has him as the No. 34 prospect in the nation). All he’s got to do is be able to stay on a team in college, and he could be making seven figures per year before he’s drafted to the NBA.
But this is why LeBron has worked so hard over the past 20 years in building his brand. Now his children can go out and get an endorsement deal before they even enter the “professional” world. Bronny is already a star on social media and has over 6 million followers on Instagram alone. The kid is taking full advantage of his association with his dad, and I don’t blame him.
With NIL now being part of the national conversation in college athletics, this will only get bigger. Many highly recruited high school kids will have NIL endorsement deals just waiting to be signed once they commit to a school for their freshman year. And with the number of former professional players’ (mainly football and basketball) kids we see making the pros now, we’re likely to have more high schoolers follow in Bronny’s footsteps. This could even hold true for the children of players not as good as LeBron (who is?), but people still know and remember the last name.
While Bronny is different from the average high school junior, his new deal is a win for everyone in favor of NIL. Every kid won’t prosper the same way as Bronny, if at all, but at least we have a few already making bucks off the work they put in for the benefit of these institutions of higher education.
Ga’Quincy McKinstry of Alabama signed a deal with Kool-Aid last August, which was a no-brainer since his nickname was already “Kool-Aid.” Hanna and Haley Cavinder of Fresno State women’s hoops signed their deal with Boost Mobile last summer. This is especially big for the women’s side of college basketball since we see how the NCAA has treated them over the years. A player like Shedeur Sanders (Deion Sanders’ son), who signed an NIL deal with Gatorade, is more in line with Bronny having a famous father that played, but it’s still another win and proof of what NIL can do for the student-athlete.
Times are changing, and you either get on board or get left behind.
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