"Ten million f***ing dollars": LeBron James shares shocking revelation about a multimillion-dollar high school offer on Jason & Travis Kelce's podcast

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James said he turned down a $10M brand deal by Reebok as a senior in high school. James was one of one in high school basketball history as he was already a phenom. As a result, brands took interest in him even before he moved to the NBA.

Speaking in an interview on Jason and Travis Kelce’s New Heights Podcast on Wednesday, James spoke about the Reebok deal.

“You know, all these companies came in, and I took on three pitches. I did an Adidas pitch, I did a Reebok pitch, I did a Nike pitch. The best pitch that I got, where I thought I was going to end up, was actually Reebok at one point," James said at the (00:40:00) mark of the interview.

James said he went ahead with the meeting with Reebok, with the brand flying him in to speak with its CEO, who eventually offered him $10M.

"The guy slides over the check to me at the end of the table. It’s me and my mom and Maverick Carter at the end of the table, and he says, ‘If you don’t go talk to any other companies, this is yours.' And I look at it, I look at it, 10 million f***ing dollars,” James said.

"I was a high school senior, man; they gave me a check for $10 million, and if I promise not to go see anybody else. I told them I need a break. They stepped out, I needed a timeout. I sat there, my mom looked at me, and me and my mom, we’re living in an apartment, and you know Section A housing in Akron.

"I’m going back, I don’t have s---, whatever, and my mom looked at me, she said, ‘Son, trust your gut. If they’re offering you this, then who knows what the other companies may offer you,” he added.

LeBron James eventually turned down the Reebok deal to sign with Nike, who gave him a seven-year, $87 million deal. In 2015, he then signed a lifetime $1 billion contract with the sportswear giant, the first athlete to sign such a contract with Nike.

LeBron James: A once-in-a-lifetime high school sensation

The battle to sign LeBron James should not come as a surprise as he was considered a generational athlete in high school.

As a freshman, James averaged 18.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game for the St. Vincent–St. Mary varsity basketball team. His performance helped the school to finish the season with a 27-0 record, winning the Division III state title in the process.

LeBron James continued to raise the bar in his sophomore year, averaging 25.3 points and 7.4 rebounds along with 5.5 assists and 3.7 steals per game.

He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, becoming the first high school basketball underclassman to do so. In his junior year, James averaged 28.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game.

As a result, he was named Ohio Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team and also became the first junior to be named male basketball Gatorade National Player of the Year.

By the time he got to his senior year, it was evident that LeBron James was going straight to the NBA from high school.

At the end of his senior year, he recorded an average of 30.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.9 steals per game, earning himself Ohio Mr. Basketball and a spot on the USA Today All-USA First Team for the third consecutive year.