From the NBA to Polymarket: Where is LeBron James's business headed?

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From the NBA to Polymarket

LeBron James enters Polymarket

In the video announcing his latest partnership, James steps into an elevator at the fictional Polymarket headquarters. The buttons offer almost every market imaginable, from politics and crypto to technology and sports. James chooses sports, at least for now.

“Welcome to Polymarket HQ. Coming soon,” he wrote on X on September 5. The partnership comes after his previous agreement with sportsbook DraftKings expired, shifting his commercial ties from sports betting toward the rapidly growing prediction-market business. James's Polymarket campaign is expected to focus on football.

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Traders already bet hundreds of millions on LeBron's future

James spent much of the summer deciding whether to continue playing and where his final NBA chapter might take him. Prediction markets turned that uncertainty into a major trading event, with more than $245 million traded on where he would play next.

Philadelphia was hardly the favorite before James eventually joined the 76ers. But the result is less striking than the scale of the interest surrounding it. James had effectively become a market himself before agreeing to promote one.

Crypto isn't completely new to LeBron

Polymarket is not James's first encounter with the crypto industry. In 2022, he and the LeBron James Family Foundation announced a multi-year partnership with Crypto.com focused on providing Web3 and blockchain education to students and families connected with his I PROMISE program.

“Blockchain technology is revolutionizing our economy, sports and entertainment, the art world, and how we engage with one another,” James said at the time. Crypto.com also released an NFT collection connected to a Super Bowl commercial featuring James, with royalties from secondary sales going to his foundation.

LeBron has been preparing for retirement for years

James's business career began long before anyone seriously discussed his retirement. Over more than two decades in the NBA, he has built an extensive portfolio of endorsements, investments and companies around a name that became valuable far beyond basketball.

His interests go well beyond conventional sponsorships. James co-founded entertainment company SpringHill, which has produced films, television shows and other media projects, and in 2021 became a partner in Fenway Sports Group, whose holdings include the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC. His relationship with Nike, meanwhile, dates back to the beginning of his NBA career.

James became the NBA's first active billionaire in 2022, according to Forbes, after years of building wealth through businesses and investments alongside his NBA earnings. His latest basketball decision makes that distinction particularly visible.

After earning nearly $53 million in his final season with the Lakers, James joined Philadelphia on a two-year, $8 million deal. “I'm not going for money,” he said after the move, making clear that another shot at a championship mattered more than maximizing his final NBA paycheck.

Not everyone wants LeBron promoting prediction markets

James's Polymarket announcement drew criticism from some fans who questioned why he would promote a platform closely associated with sports speculation. One widely shared response to the announcement simply urged him, “Don't do this Bron.”

The relationship is particularly sensitive because James remains an active NBA player while prediction markets can offer contracts involving athletes, teams and sporting events. The NBA does not specifically prohibit players from endorsing prediction-market companies, although players cannot promote contracts tied to NBA games.

What will LeBron sell when he stops playing?

For most professional athletes, retirement means losing the income generated by the skill that made them famous. James is in a very different position. Basketball created the audience, reputation and commercial power behind his name, but those assets can continue producing money long after his final game.

Polymarket is unlikely to be the last company interested in them. The more revealing question may be what James chooses to attach his name to next, because while his playing career is approaching its end, his earning career clearly isn't.

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