He hasn’t even been officially drafted yet but recent high school graduate LeBron James is the talk of the sporting world. And now that he’s signed a lucrative deal with Upper Deck, James is the talk of the hobby world as well.
James joins an impressive list of other Upper Deck spokesmen including Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Sammy Sosa, Ichiro, Wayne Gretzky and David Beckham. Does he belong with such a lofty crowd? We’ll have to wait and see as far as the long-term goes but when the first 2003-04 basketball products start coming out, James will give a much-needed boost to hurting basketball sales.
Under the multi-year deal, all of James’ autograph cards and memorabilia cards will come from Upper Deck products. He will also be featured on Upper Deck packaging.
The first James card will be found in Upper Deck Top Prospects, available July 29. Following that, look for him in 2003-04 Victory, which will be hitting shelves in late August.
