Setting the record straight

Las Vegas -- My reporting was wrong.  Some of my sources turned out to be inaccurate.  For the last two years I have reported that LeBron James' endorsement contracts have location bonuses except for his Nike contract.  I got this information from numerous conversations over the course of three years.

I have recently learned from different sources that the Nike contract does have a location bonus.  It is not a huge one, one that doubles his deal or would make the difference between signing a max contract or signing for the mid-level exception.  I wanted to wait until after LeBron signed his contract to discuss it on in this forum because the last thing I want is more speculation about LeBron's grand plans and all his desires to go to New York or whatever.

LeBron has signed his second contract with the Cavs.  He is committed to the Cavs today as he was four years ago when he was drafted.  I would advise fans to prepare yourselves for constant speculation on his future for the next 10-12 years, it is the nature of the beast.  Every three or four years he's going to come up for a contract and at least a year before he does, there will be stories and commentators who suggest he will be going elsewhere.  In fact, it won't just be contract time, if the Cavs have a down few months, some will predict he'll demand to be traded.  Prepare yourselves to live with as a cost of having a superstar in Middle America.

In the next few years, Nike will probably give James a new and richer contract.  It will probably include location bonuses, too.  It is business.  If I were a fan, I'd be more concerned about basketball and how the Cavs get better.

So I have set the record straight and I'm going to move on permanently, I'm sorry that I led you astray in the past.  I hope it does not happen again in the future, but I will continue working hard to give you the best Cavs/LeBron coverage I can here and in the paper.

Starting this morning, I will be covering Team USA's preparations for the FIBA World Championships gearing up for my trip to Japan next month.  We have some exciting and innovative plans for coverage in the Beacon Journal and on Ohio.com.  Hope you'll enjoy it.