Liverpool FC Forum

by **RedSi35** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:04 pm

Basketball star LeBron James is joining forces with renowned hedge-fund manager John Henry and veteran Hollywood producer Tom Werner in a deal that brings together one of the biggest stars in sports and two of the world's most renowned teams.

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LeBron James is averaging 26.6 points per game for the Miami Heat this season.

The deal between Mr. James and Fenway Sports Group will give Mr. James a minority stake in the soccer club Liverpool, which FSG owns. FSG, which also owns the Boston Red Sox, is partnering with Mr. James's sports-marketing firm, LRMR Branding & Marketing to become the exclusive world-wide representative for Mr. James.

The deal marks the first time that a professional athlete at the top of his game has taken an ownership interest in a team with the size and reach of Liverpool, which is one of the most popular and powerful sports franchises in the world.

It also adds yet another dimension for Boston-based FSG, which became a global operation last October when it bought Liverpool for $488 million. The company was founded as New England Sports Ventures nine years ago after Messrs. Henry and Werner bought the Red Sox and 80% of regional sports channel New England Sports Network. In 2007 Fenway became 50% owner of the Nascar auto-racing team Roush Fenway Racing.

Its subsidiary, Fenway Sports Management, has since become a leading sports-marketing firm, selling $60 million in sponsorships annually for properties FSG owns or represents. By teaming up with Mr. James, Fenway will be representing the commercial interests of an individual sports star for the first time.

"We're not interested in talent or athlete representation but we think he is one of the most remarkable athletes of his time," Mr. Werner said in an interview Tuesday. "We believe we can open doors for LeBron and LeBron can open doors for us."

Executives involved with the deal declined to comment on the financial terms, but a person familiar with the details said FSG would receive a small commission on any deals it landed for Mr. James.

Mr. James said he was "humbled" by the deal and looked forward to donning a red Liverpool jersey and visiting Anfield, the team's legendary stadium.

"The first time I stepped on an NBA court I became a businessman," said Mr. James, who is 26 years old. "This is a great opportunity for me."

Maverick Carter, chief executive of LRMR and a high-school teammate of Mr. James, said partnering with Fenway was essential for them to gain access to international business opportunities that go beyond the typical athlete endorsement deals.

"These guys have unmatched skills when it come to marketing and selling on a global basis," Mr. Carter said of Fenway.

In addition to his $15.8 million salary from the Miami Heat, Mr. James earns an estimated $30 million annually from endorsements with such blue-chip companies as McDonald's, Nike, and Coca-Cola. His image took a major hit last summer when he was criticized by the media and NBA Commissioner David Stern for teaming up with ESPN to create "The Decision," an hour-long special during which he announced his choice to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat.

His new team has stumbled at times this season, leaving many to wonder if Mr. James will ever fulfill his promise and begin winning championships in the style of global stars like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

According to executives involved with the transaction, the deal was conceived by Paul Wachter, a director of Time Warner who advised Messrs. Henry and Werner on their acquisition of the Red Sox before the 2002 season. Mr. Wachter has also grown close with Mr. Carter, who expressed his desire to build Mr. James' portfolio internationally and find opportunities for the Miami Heat star to gain equity in companies throughout the world. So far, Mr. James's commercial interests have largely been limited to his endorsement deals.

David Carter, who teaches about the sports business at the University of Southern California, said Mr. James was taking a risk by signing on with a company that had never represented an athlete before. He added that the opportunity to invest in Fenway properties like Liverpool was essential for Mr. James to mitigate that risk.

Mr. James didn't indicate what he wanted to do with his additional earnings, though he has never been shy about his desire to become as dominant in the business world as he is on the basketball court.

Mr. James wants to pursue partnerships similar to his deal with hip-hop impresario Dr. Dre. The pair last year launched a line of high-performance sports headphones known as PowerBeats. Coincidentally, Mr. James and Dr. Dre met Fenway Red Sox executives on Opening Day at Fenway Park in 2010 in a promotional event for the headphones.

In the fall, Mr. Wachter suggested LRMR begin discussions with Fenway Sports, which had just purchased Liverpool and were in the process of transforming themselves into an international company.

"One group was building a global powerhouse, and the other was looking to do things differently to really move the needle," Mr. Wachter said.

The parties gathered in February in Omaha at the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway and realized their goals for global expansion were similar.

"Without purchasing Liverpool, we never would have been able to have this conversation," Mr. Werner said.

According to Deloitte's 2010 Football Money League report, Liverpool is the world's eighth-biggest soccer team by revenue, with $320 million in revenue during the 2009-10 season. Liverpool and Manchester United have won 18 top division championships, the most among English teams, and both are wildly popular in Asia, where Liverpool will tour this summer.

Ermmmmm

by **metalhead** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:25 pm

Great bit of business me thinks (on the business side of course)

Would definitely add a lot of business in the US and increase our commercial revenues

by **Greavesie** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:26 pm

It's not Asia!! :oh:

by **ethanr** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:35 pm

Very, very smart.. You guys have no idea how great of an idea this is.. As an American, I know who Lebron James is. Everybody knows who Lebron James is. If they get him wearing Liverpool Jerseys, which it looks like he will, we will literally make 10's of millions of dollars. In the U.S, people idolize these types of athletes. he's considered one of the best basketball players of all time, and the best that currently plays. Americans take to the styles of people they idolize by wearing what they wear... I like the baseball team the Atlanta Braves, and so does a rapper. This rapper wore a braves hat all the time, and now I see braves hats everywhere I go because it's a style.

I don't care if people buy Liverpool Jerseys as a style... income is income and this will produce a sh!t load of it.

by **Greavesie** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:06 pm

just had a quick scan around tinterweb for info on this LeBron guy, certainly a lot of divided opinion regarding him as a player anyway. Some love him, some despise him. I can imagine him being a sort of Cristiano Ronaldo figure of basketball, is such an analogy close?

by **crim cram** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:52 pm

Greavesie wrote:just had a quick scan around tinterweb for info on this LeBron guy, certainly a lot of divided opinion regarding him as a player anyway. Some love him, some despise him. I can imagine him being a sort of Cristiano Ronaldo figure of basketball, is such an analogy close?

That's probably a fair assessment. He left Cleveland (his home) for Miami and Cleveland fans now hate his guts. There no doubt he's one of the best players of his generation and still has some good years in him. As an American, I don't care about the NBA, but if he can generate income for LFC, and not hurt the image of the club, I'm all for it. BTW He's big in Asia ;-)

by **killerp** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:43 am

Americans don't recognise "soccer" as a major sport so I'm not too excited about that.

This is the order of popularity for sports in the US:

US Football - NFL
Basketball -NBA
Baseball - MLB
Hockey - NHL
Soccer - MLS

But I guess if Latino's become the majority of the population in the states that will change Gooooooooooooooooallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!

by **maguskwt** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:45 am

ethanr wrote:Very, very smart.. You guys have no idea how great of an idea this is.. As an American, I know who Lebron James is. Everybody knows who Lebron James is. If they get him wearing Liverpool Jerseys, which it looks like he will, we will literally make 10's of millions of dollars. In the U.S, people idolize these types of athletes. he's considered one of the best basketball players of all time, and the best that currently plays. Americans take to the styles of people they idolize by wearing what they wear... I like the baseball team the Atlanta Braves, and so does a rapper. This rapper wore a braves hat all the time, and now I see braves hats everywhere I go because it's a style.

I don't care if people buy Liverpool Jerseys as a style... income is income and this will produce a sh!t load of it.

Damn... I'm not a Lebron fan and I'm not a Heat fan...he's a great talent but he hasn't won any championships yet... and he could have won it with Cleveland but he forsake his home team to join the Heat... He's like Torres to me...

I'm a Kobe and Lakers fan... Why couldn't FSG tie with the Lakers... Liverpool & Lakers... has a good ring to it...

by **BKrimmel** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:33 am

Lebron is not what he used to be in American sports. Went from being King James to one of the leagues most hated players. He decided to leave his home team and the only franchise he knew in an hour long nationally televised segment on ESPN. Announcing he was going to "take his talents to South Beach and play for the Miami Heat." Rather than try and beat the best out there, he wanted to join forces with friends so he could attempt to win a title that way. (Sounds like somebody we all know.....)

And in American sports popularity I believe It is Football, Baseball, College Football, Basketball, College Basketball, NASCAR, NHL. Next year there is uncertainty as to whether the pro-football season will take place due to a labor dispute between the now decertified players union and the league owners. A lockout is underway and the season may be canceled. So we could see an increase in fans interested in the EPL because we Americans can not get enough sports.

All told, whatever the club things is the right move I have faith, because I still have no idea whatsoever what Lebron's role will be with the club. So they are much smarter than me and truss lies with the smart people.

by **ethanr** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:35 am

Greavesie wrote:just had a quick scan around tinterweb for info on this LeBron guy, certainly a lot of divided opinion regarding him as a player anyway. Some love him, some despise him. I can imagine him being a sort of Cristiano Ronaldo figure of basketball, is such an analogy close?

MLS is at the bottom, but I don't think people will really care because it has nothing to do with the MLS. People love basketball tho, and if Lebron James starts supporting Liverpool and is seen wearing Liverpool jerseys, people will start to like Liverpool.

Somewhat, but I would tie a little bit of Messi in with him too, because it's not a everybody that support Miami Heat love him and everybody else hates him. When he played for Cleveland, he was basically like Messi. Everybody liked him except for the teams that really competed with them- Lakers and Celtics. Now that he left the Cavs, everybody in Cleveland hate him and everybody in Miami love him, but I don't think too many others where affected. If anything, a few lost some respect for him, but many others just joined the bandwagon that became the Miami Heat.

Magus where do you live? I live like an hour outside of L.A. I hate the Lakers tho, I'm actually a Jazz fan. Your welcome for beating you guys in LA the other day and hurting your chances for a number one seed

But I don't care about basketball all that much so whatever.

I do really think this will help us tho. I can't see it doing any harm to us to be honest, it really can only give us more publicity.

And you are right crim, he's huge in Asia. Players that are huge in Asia make a lot of money off of Asian fans. David Ortiz was a Boston Red Sox player that was adored in Asia for some reason. I think it was because America were playing Japan and he was hit by a pitch and pretended to charge the mound, just to scare the little Japanese pitcher. The pitcher turned around and started sprinting away, running away from Ortiz because he was so afraid, but Ortiz was just joking and ran to first laughing his @ss off.

Anyways... He's huge in Asia and people buy his stuff all the time. Lebron is the same, so I imagine if we made a Liverpool jersey with Lebron's name on the back, it will sell like mad.

by **The Good Yank** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:56 am

maguskwt wrote:Damn... I'm not a Lebron fan and I'm not a Heat fan...he's a great talent but he hasn't won any championships yet... and he could have won it with Cleveland but he forsake his home team to join the Heat... He's like Torres to me...

I agree with most of what you say here. But really can you blame a guy for leaving Cleveland? He can make his $50million per year through salary and endorsements, spend his summer in Ohio (why he would want that I have no idea) and spend September through early June in Miami. Can't fault him for that decision.

NBA teams are not like Football clubs. No US sport really has that setup. Youth, Academy, Reserves First team etc. Plus with the draft system it's almost impossible for top players to end up with their hometown team. Remember, Lebron was only able to be drafted by the Cavs because they were the worst basketball team in the league before he got there (or near it).

As far as the impact this has on LFC, I think it would end up being a good thing from a marketing standpoint. As far as the whole investment into the team, well that will have to come down to how much of a minority shareholder Lebron is. I can't see it being very much.

Is this LPRMG or whatever the hell it's called going to develop into an IMG type of management firm for top athletes? If so, Great, top athletes want to be managed by top agents. Top agents can maybe lure players to LFC.

Bottom line, this is a bit of an odd move and I think the story may be blowing things out of proportion a bit. American pro athletes buy into companies all the time. David Wright, 3rd baseman for the New York Mets did a commercial for Vitamin Water a few years ago and instead of getting paid straight cash he was given the option of either being paid or given a 10 percent stake in the company. He took the percentage, a year later Vitamin Water was bought by Coca Cola and Wright made about $50million.

The way this looks is that Lebron owns 30%of the management company, which is investing in FSG. Now I can't imagine this management company being able to buy say, 2% of FSG, which remember also owns the Red Sox, so they basically I think this is a move that is only getting stories because it's a prominent sports figure involved.

by **SouthCoastShankly** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 8:42 am

So much speculation on here, even from the yanks! You're all bullshitting!

If you do some research the partnership motives are clear - Asia. Nothing to do with the US market.

LeBron James has a massive basketball following in Asia, Liverpool have a massive football following in Asia. The partnership is mutually beneficial, we both have large following by different demographics in Asia so the idea is to make a marketing collaboration to exploit each other across Asia. We all know how much potential Asia provides in terms of revenue, we already have our sponsorships aligned with the Asian market. All the LRMR (LeBron's company) deal is doing is aiming to increase our exposure.

FSG have obviously done their homework. Although it would be interesting to see how much the minority stake was worth to LeBron?

by **Alex88** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 11:56 am

ethanr wrote:Very, very smart.. You guys have no idea how great of an idea this is.. As an American, I know who Lebron James is. Everybody knows who Lebron James is. If they get him wearing Liverpool Jerseys, which it looks like he will, we will literally make 10's of millions of dollars. In the U.S, people idolize these types of athletes. he's considered one of the best basketball players of all time, and the best that currently plays. Americans take to the styles of people they idolize by wearing what they wear... I like the baseball team the Atlanta Braves, and so does a rapper. This rapper wore a braves hat all the time, and now I see braves hats everywhere I go because it's a style.

I agree.

Americans don't recognise "soccer" as a major sport so I'm not too excited about that.

Soccer in USA is very popular, believe me.

After the World Cup in 1994(in USA), the americans people's attention for soccer is grew.

by **metalhead** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:24 pm

ethanr wrote:Very, very smart.. You guys have no idea how great of an idea this is.. As an American, I know who Lebron James is. Everybody knows who Lebron James is. If they get him wearing Liverpool Jerseys, which it looks like he will, we will literally make 10's of millions of dollars. In the U.S, people idolize these types of athletes. he's considered one of the best basketball players of all time, and the best that currently plays. Americans take to the styles of people they idolize by wearing what they wear... I like the baseball team the Atlanta Braves, and so does a rapper. This rapper wore a braves hat all the time, and now I see braves hats everywhere I go because it's a style.

I don't care if people buy Liverpool Jerseys as a style... income is income and this will produce a sh!t load of it.

dude, some of the Americans I know hate Lebron James, well most of them I know are Spurs (basketball team spurs) or Lakers fans

by **SouthCoastShankly** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:35 pm

Liverpool announce pre-season Asia tour, playing games in Guangzhou, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul in July.

Hence the LeBron marketing deal. Not rocket science is it.

The deal is primarily to do with Asia, not the US.

If it was about the states, we'd be touring there. It isn't!

Sure it will raise our profile slightly in the states but as mentioned before football is NOT a major sport in the states. I do not expect in my lifetime for football to dislodge NFL, NHL or NBA as a major male sport. It won't happen.

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