LeBron Inc. - The building of a billion-dollar athlete

And here lies the difference between James and nearly every other professional athlete. Together with Maverick Carter, a childhood chum and the de facto CEO of LeBron Inc., James is trying to create a new financial model for the 21st-century athlete.

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Instead of just lining up endorsements and cashing checks, James is seeking equity in the companies he works with; and he is using his on-court prowess to build a corporation that deals with entities as disparate as Bubblicious and Warren Buffett.

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"What I do on the court will drive revenue," says James. He's also picky about his partners, always asking himself, "Is it authentic? I know I can go out and sign a lot of endorsements and get checks. Money is not the issue."

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Wouldn't it be interesting if LeBron used LRMR (see article) the way Mr. Buffett has used the insurance business to build a diversified holding company? For LeBron, the return on capital for that business is ridiculously high while he is in his prime and if he lets all that cash build up, gets someone with capital allocating expertise to partner with, and then either invests in and/or buys businesses when they are cheap, he could have pretty sizable conglomerate by the time he retires.

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And in full disclosure, I grew up in the Cleveland area and am a big Cavs fan. That fact also makes me hope that Mr. Buffett's decision to stay in his home town of Omaha also rubs off on LeBron and he spends his entire career in Cleveland!