LeBron's business partner hints deal with Nike worth $1 billion

Nike is paying LeBron James like a king.

The apparel company inked its longtime client to a lifetime deal in December, though the details of the agreement were not disclosed.

It is believed that James' deal with Nike is in the ballpark of $1 billion, and while his business partner Maverick Carter wasn't confirming any official numbers during an interview with Mark Anthony Green of GQ, he hinted that the deal did reach 10 figures.

Can you ballpark it?
What are people saying?

Kanye said a billion. So a billion.
(Maverick smiles and points one finger skyward.)

Yeah. It's a fantastic deal. Nike feels great about the deal. That's the most important thing. As great as I feel, as great as LeBron feels - Nike feels fantastic about it. It's the largest deal in the history of the company. Their hope is he makes even more. And our hope is that, too, obviously.

Nike has released 13 different versions of LeBron shoes, with the latest edition estimated to have earned close to $400 million in sales.