LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Bronny James, the eldest son of NBA superstar LeBron James, is among five amateur basketball players to have signed endorsement deals with Nike, the sports apparel company announced Monday.
The younger James, who turned 18 last Thursday, is a guard at Sierra Canyon High School near Los Angeles while his father is the 37-year-old four-time NBA champion playmaker for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bronny James has already become part of Nike’s marketing for its newest sneaker, the Nike LeBron 20.
No financial terms for the deals were revealed.
LeBron James signed a lifetime Nike deal in 2015 after working with the shoemaker since his own days as an 18-year-old prep prospect.
James has said he one day hopes to play alongside his son in the NBA.
Bronny James inked an NIL deal — for name, image and likeness rights — along with four other young basketball guards.
Three are women: JuJu Watkins who is another Sierra Canyon student; Caitlin Clark of the University of Iowa; and Haley Jones of Stanford.
The fifth is D.J. Wagner, a New Jersey high school senior, who hopes to become the NBA’s first third-generation player.
He is the grandson of Milt Wagner, who won an NBA title with the Lakers in 1988, and the son of Dajuan Wagner, a teammate of LeBron James in the star’s first two NBA seasons in Cleveland, before health issues ended his career in 2006.
“Each athlete is recognized as a player who is paving the way for the next generation on and off the court,” Nike said in a statement. “These athletes push Nike to think about new ways the game can break barriers, bring people together, build community and shape the future.”
© Agence France-Presse