Everything about the $1bn deal only Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James have for a lifetime

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most marketable sports personalities in the world. He has built an incredible marketing empire around his image and the CR7 brand that many multi-trillion dollar companies fall over themselves to recruit him for their brands. Ronaldo has signed numerous sponsorship and endorsement deals with companies such as Armani, Tag Heuer, Egyptian Steel, Herbalife, Castrol, Italia Independent, Clear, among others. 

However, the best and the biggest of his sponsorship deal is the one with the Kit manufacturer, Nike. Cristiano Ronaldo renewed his contract terms with Nike in November 2016 when he was offered a lifetime contract with the giant company. The 36-year-old is only the second sportsman in history to be offered a lifetime contract by the kit manufacturers. The first was LeBron James, the 4-time NBA All-star MVP winner. 

The lifetime contracts offered to Ronaldo and James is said to be worth $1bn each per athlete. This is no doubt the biggest sponsorship deals offered to players though PSG pair Lionel Messi and Neymar also have lifetime sponsorship deals agreed with Adidas and Puma respectively. It is unclear how the deal for Ronaldo will break down in yearly figures but by mathematical division, both athletes would probably get at least $20m yearly for 50 years of their contract. 

Ronaldo's recent move to Manchester United would have also increased the standing of the kit maker due to the social media buzz that has surrounded him. It was reported that the player's social media posts alone were worth up to $474m to Nike in 2016. This means that even though they are shelling out millions on the endorsement deal yearly, Nike is also reaping a lot from the deal.