lebron james

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James talks about his investments and the pressure of handling money at a young age in the latest installment of 'Kneading Dough' on the UNINTERRUPTED digital media platform.

(David Zalubowski/Associated Press)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- LeBron James talks about handling the pressures of coming into money at a young age, including the day in 2003 when he turned down a $10 million check from Reebok chairman Paul Fireman, in the latest episode of Kneading Dough, a web series on James' UNINTERRUPTED digital media platform.



"Being a first generational money maker in the household is a scary thing for an 18-year-old," James tells Kneading Dough host and longtime business partner Maverick Carter. "I go from being in a classroom in May to being a multimillionaire in June."



James reveals that Fireman offered him a check with the promise that the future superstar would not take endorsement meetings with Nike or Adidas.



"I flew in from Akron, Ohio, from Spring Hill, from the projects," James said. "Our rent was like $17 a month. And Now I'm looking at a $10 million check that I can leave with and go back to high school the next day."



James says it eventually occurred to him that if Reebok was willing to give him $10 million up front, what was to keep Nike or Adias from offering $20 or $30? Or maybe there was more to it than that.



"Maybe the up front money isn't the biggest thing," James said. "Let's start thinking about the back end."



The four time MVP and three-time NBA champion appears on the latest episode of "Kneading Dough," an UNINTERRUPTED original series hosted by Maverick Carter that features professional athletes talking about money. The series previously featured Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.



"Kneading Dough" is the latest series on UNINTERRUPTED, the digital media company created by James and Carter.



James and Carter go on to discuss their philosophy of seeking equity in their endorsement deals and "Betting on myself long term instead of getting getting some money today." He said when the team began to look at endorsement deals as partnerships, that's when things started to click.



"We're not just here to hold your product or just talk about your product, we're here to work with you," James said. "Once we started doing that and I started seeing us become more and more seasoned at doing that. There's no reason why we can't start our own thing."



James goes on to discuss his decision to $15 million in endorsements with McDonalds on the table in order to invest in the Blaze pizza chain.



"Just to say that you bet on yourself and you started from the bottom, and you've created something where you can look at it and say 'we did that. we own that,' that's a really cool thing," he said.



Carter goes on to ask James about letting go of the ego and competitiveness that he needs to play basketball at a high level when it comes to making business decisions.



"I have to be able once I leave battle or competition to have to accept the fact that there are certain things I don't know, or know enough of so I have to ask questions," James said. "I know that once I get off the floor, there's going to be more time of my life spent off the floor than on the floor. If you make it to 40 (in the NBA). But from 40 to 85 or 90, hopefully I'm lucky to get to 90, that's 50 years. So I still have to live life beyond the hardwood."