While many know of the billion dollar profit Dr. Dre took home after the now historic Beats deal, not many know of Miami Heat superstar Lebron James’ involvement and subsequent earnings from the deal, as well.
Though LeBron will only take home a fraction of Dre’s earnings, the $30 million in stock and cash that James is scheduled to collect will undoubtedly help him in his quest to become the first billionaire active athlete.
According to reports, back in 2008 Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre brought James a prototype of the Beats headphones right before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The deal was arranged that if he liked the headphones and signed on to help promote them, he’d be given a share in the then start up company.
Well as luck would have it, it turned out to be a smart move for King James as the deal is now being called “the biggest equity cash payout for a professional athlete in history.”
