David Bowie

LeBron borrowed $300M tax-free against his lifetime Nike deal

Through an entity called King James Funding, LeBron James issued a roughly 30-year bond with a sub-5% coupon, secured by his lifetime Nike contract, modeled on David Bowie's 1990s Bowie Bond. Because loan proceeds aren't taxed, he received about $300 million up front and still keeps the upside of the Nike deal.

“So what LeBron did was LeBron created a bond offering, and it's a 30-year bond or 31-year bond with like a sub-5% coupon, right? So he basically owes 5% interest, but he got $300 million upfront. Now the beauty of this is debt, when you get, when you get debt or a loan, it's tax-free.”

Steal thisBorrow against a long-dated cash-flowing asset instead of selling it, so you get the cash now without triggering taxes.