LeBron James' new business venture cause a stir as fans call for NBA ban
LeBron James has been slammed for his latest business venture after announcing a deal with Polymarket.
James, who is gearing up for his 24th season in the NBA, teased the announcement with a clip of him coming out of an elevator after pressing the "sports" floor in an office building.
He captioned the post, "Welcome to Polymarket HQ. Coming soon".
On Tuesday, the full video was shared on his and Polymarket's channels, confirming the exclusive partnership. James walked through the office in a star-studded video hyping up the link-up.
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LeBron James slammed after new business announcement on Instagram
Front Office Sports reported that the deal with Polymarket focuses on football, hence why James had one in his hand during the advert.
Polymarket is a prediction market where people trade on future events happening. It is slightly different to a traditional sportsbook in the United States and replaces a previous partnership with DraftKings, which expired in the summer.
His move follows on from Giannis Antetokounmpo becoming a shareholder in Kalshi, a similar company, in February.
Polymarket have also recruited tennis legend Maria Sharapova.
It does not breach any NBA gambling rules, but fans were furious with James' new venture and demanded that the Philadelphia 76ers star be suspended for it.
One fan jumped in the comments of the post and said: "Unfortunately, will impact his legacy."
Another user on Instagram wrote: "Professional athletes should not be allowed to partner with prediction markets."
Elsewhere, a third person reacted and said: "I dare the NBA to suspend LeBron for promoting gambling. Oh wait they don't actually care."
A fourth agreed: "Ban LeBron for 1 year."
A final individual wrote: "Worth $1.4 Billion but couldn't resist an opportunity to promote gambling to young men."
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LeBron James' business deals which helped him become NBA's first active billionaire
Four-time NBA champion James has made huge money on the court, to the point that he can afford to take a significant pay cut for what is expected to be his final contract in the NBA.
With his minimum veteran's deal, it is expected that James will only earn $3.9 million per year.
But he is worth $1.4 billion thanks to various investments and endorsements. James has a lifetime deal with Nike and has worked with major brands like Pepsi.
In addition is an investor in the Fenway Sports Group, which owns Liverpool and was an early investor in Beats by Dre.
Because of his equity stake, he benefited hugely when Apple bought the company for around $3 billion in 2014.
Investments in Tonal and Lyft were also savvy, but the most impressive bit of business James did involved putting less than $1 million for around 10% of Blaze Pizza.
Turning down a McDonald's deal for $15 billion, Forbes reported in 2022 that the shares in Blaze Pizza were worth double that sum.
Topics: Lebron James, NBA, Basketball
Josh Lawless