Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James won’t be plugging Microsoft operating systems any longer.
The two-year marketing deal that Microsoft struck with James during the NBA All-Star weekend in 2007 has quietly come to an end, according to news reports from Associated Press and other sources. AP cited a source close to James in reporting that the deal between the NBA standout and MSN had been terminated.
James made a cameo appearance in a TV spot pushing the Windows Vista operating system. An MSN page that James had collaborated on has been shut down along with James’ personal page, LeBronJames.com.
No value was officially attached to the two-year pact when it was announced. Microsoft representatives could not be reached for comment.
The demise of the partnership is reportedly tied to the departure from Microsoft last spring of Joanne Bradford, the head of MSN marketing, who had put the deal together.
James still has a seven-year, $90 million deal with Nike as part of $150 million in endorsement contracts. Nike began running a campaign promoting James’ new signature shoe during Thanksgiving Day football games.
James, who has stated a goal of becoming “the richest man in the world,” signed a three-year, $60 million extension of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer.
James’ break with Microsoft comes on the heels of General Motors and Tiger Woods ending a nine-year relationship by mutual consent last week.
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