Michael Jordan may have hung up his sneakers for the last time but Nike is glomming onto new blood by signing 18-year-old high school basketball star and projected NBA draft first pick LeBron James to an endorsement deal worth more than $90 million.
Nike beat out Reebok International and Adidas-Salomon for James, who will serve as a Nike endorser for a reported seven years.
Meanwhile, Reebok is bouncing back with even younger talent, tapping three-year-old basketball phenomenon Mark Walker Jr. for a new TV campaign.
The TV spots will feature Walker displaying his skills and the tagline “Do You Have a Mark Walker in the Family?” inviting viewers to submit emails and tapes of their own child athletes.
If response is enough, Reebok could pitch TV networks on turning the campaign into its own reality show, according to “USA Today.” Walker is being paid with a college trust fund so as not to compromise his amateur standing for high school or college athletics in the future.
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