Cities to Lebron: “We Need You”
Cities pursue Lebron. Credit: Craig Hatfield
In a crusade reminiscent of recent campaigns to bring the Olympics or a new stadium to their cities, a number of prominent elected officials (and of course rappers) have been engaging in a contest to land Lebron James, the all-star Cleveland Cavaliers forward. James, known in various circles as “King James” or “The Chosen One” is the most sought after free agent in NBA history, partly because so few players of his caliber ever truly become free agents. The closest analogy to this year’s “Lebron sweepstakes” is Kobe Bryant’s 2004 free agency campaign, a comparison that falls short because the sexual assault allegations brought against Bryant prior to the start of that season forced a more muted bidding war among Bryant’s suitors. Without any public indiscretions to temper their courtship, James’s suitors have been able to come out in full force.
At the head of this pack seeking to draw James is New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg recently cut C’mon Lebron” “a youtube video appealing to James to c’mon and “write the next chapter in NYC basketball history.” Bloomberg’s video looks like a pro-forma promotional video produced by the local chamber of commerce. That is until he drops this gem: “As the good book says, lead us to the promised land. And that’s a quote from the King James version.”
This savior analogy is taken a step further by officials in James’ home state where Governor Ted Strickland recently banded together with cast of notable Ohio figures to record “We Are Lebron,” a parody of the various “We Are The World” efforts, in which Ohio officials are bizarrely found referring to James as “King” (i.e. “Just tell us King what changes we must make”).
Since Bloomberg or Strickland wouldn’t extend, much less embarrass themselves if there weren’t real repercussions for either winning or losing James, the real question is how much is James really worth to these cities?
According to Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Robert Schoenberger, James’s presence brings an estimated $48 million in annual revenue to businesses around the Quicken Loan Center, home of the Cavaliers, and $150 million a year when the Cavaliers make the playoffs.
Surprisingly New York’s estimates are much more modest: luring James could generate an additional $59 million in revenue, according to a report cited by the New York Daily News’ Adam Lisberg and Jose Martinez.
However, both Cleveland and New York’s estimates pale in comparison to Chicago’s—another contender in these “Lebron sweepstakes.” University of Illinois at Chicago economist John Skorburg projects James generating $2.7 billion over six years, or $450 million a year if he is able to lead the Bulls to deep playoff runs.
A number of analysts think all these projections are inflated. Julia Bennett, a strategist focusing on the development and promotion of sports properties and related brands at Virilion ad agency, says, “I just don’t think we can automatically say that money made on ticket sales or sponsorships translates into money out on the streets of the city.” Bennett goes on to add: “Arena workers certainly won’t get paid more, and so they won’t be boosting the local economy with increased income tax or more disposable income. The city won’t take more in taxes, either, because most teams have cushy deals with their home cities where their taxes are essentially neutralized.”
But unlike a new stadium deal, for example, James is at least guaranteed to bring a initial boost in revenue without taxpayers taking on greater liabilities as they would with a much larger venture like a new stadium. However, as another ballyhooed free-agent signing in this decade—the Orlando Magic’s 2001 enlistment of Tracey McGrady and Grant Hill—revealed, things don’t work out as planned. Neither Hill nor McGrady finished their contracts with Orlando, and the Magic never advanced past the first round in the three years these two played together. Moreover as William Rhoden, author of Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise Fall and Redemption of the Black Athlete, might attest: given this nation’s history with slavery, there’s something disconcerting about a “bidding war” for a black male athlete.
Within a week, the winner of the “Lebron sweepstakes” will have been decided and this entire spectacle will have ended. However, it’ll undoubtedly take a few years to decide once and for all whether all this hype was worthwhile, whether it made any sense—or cents, as it were.
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professorf on Sat, Jul 03, 2010 at 11:55am
The treatment these athletes are receiving is rather absurd. This kind of boosterism has created all kinds of problems in college towns where the BMOC receive inordinate amounts of preferential treatment. Transferring this over into treatment of professional athletes does not bode well at all. The next time sports writings are found lamenting the fall of another “role model,” they should be shown footage of this Lebron fawning to see how such “role models” are created and how media outlets played a major role promoting the hype.
Kate in St. Louis, Missouri on Tue, Jul 06, 2010 at 8:37am
I don’t follow basketball but are we really comparing Lebron James’ career to slavery, re: the second to last paragraph? Is our country so incapable of collectively getting over the stigma of slavery that we have to compare some of our most successful black citizens to slaves merely because their talent and ambition lends itself to the ability to take their pick of salaries?
Do bidding wars for talent not happen EVERY day to people of all races? Why not compare white executives who can command millions of dollars in salary to slaves…isn’t that the same thing?
I’m not about to debate the effect that slavery has or hasn’t had on modern black culture, but if there IS an effect, I doubt that it’s manifest in people like Lebron James. If anything, we should be extolling the values of black Americans who have utilized their talent, marketability and ambition to dull the “legacy” that slavery has apparently left.
Poor Lebron, being whipped and cajoled into playing his favorite sport for millions of dollars.
Ferentz on Tue, Jul 06, 2010 at 1:32pm
@Kate,
The primary purpose of the Rhoden reference is to acknowledge that there are other ways of interpreting this set of events. There are any number of reasons for why one might be disturbed about an athlete making upwards of $15million dollars a year. A more predictable approach would have been to lament that athletes make so much more than teachers, fire fighters and police officers.
Instead, I chose to offer a reference to Rhoden’s work because he offers such a pointed critique of contemporary black athletes and the spectacles that they are often mired in.
Do I think Lebron is a slave, no. Do I think a work by a New York Times columnist about the state of black athletes is worth referencing in an article about a bidding war for the services of one of this era’s most prominent black athletes, yes.
David in New Orleans on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 4:35pm
Kate-
Certainly Lebron isn’t literally a slave. He was not “whipped” into playing professional sports. However, we shouldn’t ignore the legacy of institutional racism within sports.
Sports owners and coaches continue to be majority white, and they make they money off of majority black players. Blacks are also able to achieve in certain societal realms: sports, music, movies (entertainment), but are kept out of the realm of ownership, and other prominently white dominated sectors.
Also there is a historical connection between slavery and sport. Slave owners used to pit slaves against one another in fights, and also used them as jockeys. There was fetishizing/and fear of the black male body that exists today.
Certainly Lebron has talent and ambition, but his ambition has been channeled towards basketball since a young age and was heavily influenced by the fact that there was a clear pathway to success for black athletes. What if he had passion for astro-physics? The pathway to success isn’t as clear there.
I think that your argument about bidding over whites doesn’t make sense. This is just the elite fighting amongst themselves, not a reflection of slavery, but slave owners jockeying for more slaves.
Again, I am not trying to take away from Lebron’s achievements on or off the court (and they are substantial), however, lets not deny that there are comparisons.