Liverpool now has owners representing the sports of both baseball and basketball.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Miami Heat superstar LeBron James and business partner Maverick Carter have\u00a0reached a\u00a0deal with Fenway Sports Management, a branch of Fenway Sports Group\u00a0to expand their global marketing reach. As part of their agreement,\u00a0 LRMR Branding & Marketing, James’ marketing firm, have acquired\u00a0a minor stake in Liverpool FC, which is owned by Fenway Sports Group.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am excited to be affiliated with such an incredible organization and I look forward to donning a red shirt and visiting Anfield,\u201d James said earlier today.<\/p>\n
James is now the second NBA player who holds major stock in a professional soccer team.\u00a0 Phoenix Suns point-guard Steve Nash was one of the main protagonists in bringing the Vancouver Whitecaps to Major League Soccer and is now one of the club\u2019s owners.<\/p>\n
Though Nash is one of the NBA\u2019s more prominent stars, few players carry the same brand recognition and appeal\u00a0as James.\u00a0 The basketball star’s image has arguably made him NBA\u2019s most recognizable face as his name and likeness has not only sold\u00a0countless jerseys and posters, but has also been featured on\u00a0advertisements and commercials across the globe.<\/p>\n
James currently commands a salary just shy of $15 million annually- even though he has yet to lead a team to an NBA title.\u00a0 But even though James\u2019 hasn\u2019t\u00a0yet earned\u00a0a championship ring for either the Miami Heat or his former Cleveland Cavaliers, his stock continues to rise and his name continues to be a money maker.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time I stepped on an NBA court I became a businessman,\u201d James told the Wall Street Journal. <\/em>\u201cThis is a great opportunity for me.\u201d<\/p>\n And Liverpool will be taking advantage of James\u2019 name and popularity, according to Chairman Tom Werner.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are very few athletes who can match his global reach, appeal, and iconic status,” said Werner.\u00a0“The business opportunities for both working and being identified together in emerging international markets will result in unforeseen opportunities that neither would have been able to realize alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Although\u00a0details regarding the agreement have\u00a0not yet been\u00a0released, Fenway Sports Group will likely earn a small commission on the deal.<\/p>\n Adding James to the fold is just another in a series of changes this year for Liverpool, who were struggling at the bottom of the English Premier League table when Fenway Sports Group bought them this fall.\u00a0 A winter transfer sent Spanish forward Fernando Torres, arguably the best scorer in the world, to Chelsea.\u00a0 The transfer season also saw Liverpool lose Ryan Babel and add Luis Suarez and Andrew Carroll.<\/p>\n With the new changes, Liverpool\u00a0have since recovered their form and currently sit sixth in the Premier League.\u00a0 Though sixth is uchartered\u00a0territory\u00a0for a team that had regularly qualified for the UEFA Champions League, the fresh faces on Liverpool\u2019s roster and the squad\u2019s investors certainly brigthen the outlook on the 2011\/2012 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Liverpool now has owners representing the sports of both baseball and basketball.\u00a0 Miami Heat superstar LeBron James and business partner Maverick Carter have\u00a0reached a\u00a0deal with Fenway Sports Management, a branch of Fenway Sports Group\u00a0to expand their global marketing reach. As part of their agreement,\u00a0 LRMR Branding & Marketing, James’ marketing firm, have acquired\u00a0a minor stake […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/LeBronJames-Heat-feature.jpg?fit=650%2C300","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4348"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4348"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4354,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4348\/revisions\/4354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}