Obviously, tonight is about LeBron James, but I’m sure there’s a little part of you that wonders how much money is being made off all of this. Luckily, we have answers for you.
Reports: LeBron James Event Raises $6 Million In Ad Sales, $2.5 Million For Boys And Girls Club
First of all, the ad sales. According to Dawn C. Chmielewski of the Los Angeles Times, “LeBron: The Decision” will gross about $6 million.
ESPN agreed to donate the time, sponsors committed about $3 million -- which Nike has pledged to match. Proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
Of course, the most interesting part of that article is that it was William Morris Endeavor Agency Co-Chief Executive Ari Emanuel, and not LeBron’s business manager Maverick Carter, that pulled many of the strings behind the scenes in trying to put this whole event together. Sorry, Maverick. I know you want all the credit, but I can’t give it to you.
Meanwhile, according to CNBC's Darren Rovell, the Boys and Girls Club will get $2.5 million for this event.
“LeBron’s decision has generated an incredible amount of interest, and we decided to make his announcement on national television,” Carter said, in a statement. “We are donating the proceeds from the program, totaling $2.5 million, to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America...LeBron has a longstanding commitment to giving back to the community and has worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs in cities across the country.”
Clearly, this doesn’t change the fact that this whole thing is a ridiculous publicity stunt, but at least there will be some good people that will benefit from it all.
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