Odell Beckham Jr. is the LeBron James of the NFL. At least when it comes to shoe deals.
RELATED: How Does Brandon Marshall Affect Odell Beckham Jr.'s Production for the Giants?
ESPN's Darren Rovell reported that amid growing concerns from Nike that adidas would sign away its top NFL client, the shoe company was forced to offer up the richest deal among any NFL player.
Here's how Rovell put it:
Terms were not disclosed, but sources with knowledge of the deal say it's for five years and worth in the neighborhood of $5 million a year — the richest shoe deal for an NFL player and about two times more than any previous deal Nike had with a football player.
Beckham's previous shoe deal with Nike was worth less than $1 million per year.
The deal will make Beckham a larger brand spokesman for Nike, including campaigns outside of football.
The deal grew so big because Adidas wanted to sign Beckham from Nike, sources said. Nike had the right to match the offer, which it did.
Now, a $5-ish million deal is nowhere near the $55 million LeBron James is estimated to make this year in shoe endorsements, but basketball shoes and football cleats are clearly apples and oranges. Maybe even apples and bananas.
Here's more on the new deal for OBJ:
[divider]
