[MUSIC] >> Welcome back. As we wrap up lesson four, we're going to have another play act session with my teaching assistant Ricky Volante. Welcome back Ricky. >> Thank you. >> Doing a great job. Keep up the great work. We have to ask as we finish this session on representing the super star athlete. The management of perhaps the biggest brand in all of sports right at the moment. LeBron James. Did he make the right decision from a brand management stand point to come back to Cleveland? >> Well, I will try to set aside my Cleveland Cavalier fan hood for a second. But I believe that from a brand perspective, he made the right choice. Nike and LeBron James now have the opportunity to brand an entire series of agreements focusing on the idea of redemption. Focusing on the idea of the return and coming home. This will allow them to kind of change the perspective that has been created around LeBron James the last four years of being the bad guy. And turn him back into the white knight that he was during his days in Cleveland. >> How important is it for LeBron to win a World Championship? In connection with exploiting those publicity rights and that marketing campaign worldwide to China where, that's very important to LeBron and his agents. >> Well, obviously winning championships always helps your brand. However, in this particular instance, I think his brand has already been maximized by the fact of coming home. It's an idea that appeals to so many Americans and so many people internationally of righting your previous wrongs. So, from a brand perspective, again, winning a championship obviously you want to be at the end of your career and at the end of the day compared to Michael Jordan or compared to Kobe Bryant in terms of number of championships. However, the setup that they have managed to take here, allows them a lot of ability to maximize, both in terms of dollars and just brand recognition. >> We're going to have a post on this, we want to hear from everybody in the class about what they think about this decision. But let's go to the drafting of the product endorsement agreement and the clauses therein, which we've now studied. And the license agreement. In terms of category definition, how important is it? There have been many case studies written at Harvard Business School about Lebron and Maria Sharapova. How important in drafting now your the attorney for LeBron and his agency. What would you say in terms of defining the category for his Nike brand. How narrow could it be? How narrow should it be? And what categories would you leave open? >> Well, if I am LeBron and LRMR, I'm going to try to make those categories as narrow as possible, so that you can maximize on the number of them. The only way that you ever, as a player agent want to have in large or broad categories, if you were getting the dollars worth having and allowing one company to pigeonhole yourself into such a broad category. Now with Nike, they tend have a reputation for, they want everything. [LAUGH]. >> Would you give him a piece of the action, so to speak. We see this trend. We see in LeBron's deal with Beats that he got a percentage equity. And then when that was sold, he got a huge bang for his buck. Or would you go for a licensing fee? Which would you recommend? >> Well, I would say, getting a piece of the action in that sense that Lebron got with Beat's Doctor Dre. They left the category open enough that they were still able to sign an agreement with Samsung, which also sells headphones, obviously. And through that careful negotiation and careful categorization, they were able to maintain getting the ownership portion of that. As well as getting paid for something, for a category very similar at the same time. So again, just very well done by LRMR and a way to just capitalize on the total revenues for LeBron. >> So we're talking also about morals clauses throughout our lessons now that we're representing the peak professional athlete. Given the branding that he has achieved. Do you think he could get a clause that would say, oh, you can only cancel this if I'm convicted of a felony, which is the highest level to protect your athlete? That's what the athlete agent attorney would like to have. Morals clause that says, oh, you can only cancel me if I'm convicted of a felony. Is that a clause that's even attainable by a LeBron? >> I would say that if there's an athlete that can do it, it may very well be LeBron James. His brand and his power that he has gained over the entire league as we saw, during the NBA free agency is almost immeasurable at this point. And again, if there's an athlete that could do it. >> Well, let's go back to he's done a non conforming behavior that materially damages the Nike brand. Would you agree that language, if it were offered by Nike back to you as attorney for Lebron in LRMR? >> Well, first I would want a material damage. I would want that to find very strictly. [LAUGH] However, in the end the agreement between Nike and LeBron it's a partnership. Both brands want to be able to maximize their efforts. And the only way to do that is if you don't disparage [LAUGH] Nike as LeBron. >> Certainly, can't disparage the product. And there was the case last year where the shoe company was changing shoes publicly during the first quarter of a game. Something the shoe company, I'm sure forgave and forgot. Let's just finish with one last category, since we're going to talk about it. Have talked about it, will continue to talk about it. And that is to let the graph of the poster category. The image category. The license agreement which we've studied throughout this course. In that case, would you reserve that category from Nike or would you let them own it? >> I would say, it depends. It would obviously depend on the amount that Nike's willing to pay for that category. If you feel that you're getting fair market value or more, then I don't see a reason with allowing Nike to posses it. Granted you have to do the appropriate studies and things to determine how much that'll be worth going forward. But in the end, from LeBron's standpoint, you're trying to maximize the number of dollars that you can get. So whatever is going to bring you the most amount of money is the route that you want to go. >> As a former sports marketing expert as an undergrad, could the trademark be associated with the slogan, "The Return"? I would say, it could, because just with the age that we live in. I know the Twitter #TheReturn was going around quite a bit, while LeBron was making his decision. And it became synonymous, one with the other. So if you can create that ability to, for people to relate the term, the return to LeBron James, then you certainly have the groundwork to at least try to make a case to have the trademark. >> For our audience though, as the attorney now. Would you recommend that at least some publicity right be attached to that phrase, to be able to trademark and protect it. >> Yes. And again with Nike and LeBron, they certainly have the ability right now to create and entire line. Clothing focusing on the return much like they did with the witness line that they had during LeBron's first time in Cleveland. >> Thank you, Ricky. That was great. And thank you for being with us again. I hope you'll share with us your thoughts. This will be the post for this week. We'll look forward to your thoughts. Please manage this superstar brand with us. Let us know what you think. Where we're right, wrong, perhaps we're indifferent to how you view this case. It's perhaps the most important case out there in representing a professional athlete right now. We've tried to give you the tricks of the trade, as well as the clauses that could help or hurt the extension of a brand like LeBron and we hope you'll share this journey with us. And let us know what you think you would do, if you were representing LeBron James as he returns to Cleveland. So thank you for your attention. And we look forward to catching up with you in the next lesson. [MUSIC]
