Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is about to sign a new endorsement deal with a beverage partner.
According to Front Office Sports, James is expected to sign a new sponsorship deal with PepsiCo after his 18-year deal with Coca-Cola expired last September.
According to the report, James is also expected to become the face of Mountain Dew and their new "Rise Energy" ad campaign.
James first partnered with Coca-Cola in 2003 when he was 18 years old. He also signed long-term endorsement deals with Nike and Upper Deck at that time as well.
James has been the face of many campaigns for Coca-Cola products over the last 18 years. Most notably, James was featured in numerous Sprite campaigns, had his own flavor of Powerade, and was the face of a Coca-Cola marketing campaign alongside Yao Ming during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In 2015, the NBA replaced Coca-Cola with PepsiCo as its official food and beverage partner. It's possible that had something to do with both James and Coca-Cola agreeing to part ways back in September.
"LeBron's contract came up at a time when both he and The Coca-Cola Company were actively reviewing all of its resources to make sure it was investing in places that ensured long-term growth," a spokesperson for Coca-Cola told Front Office Sports. "After many discussions with LeBron and his team, we mutually agreed to part ways."
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James is also a 10 percent owner of the Blaze Pizza chain which currently offers only Coca-Cola products. It's unknown if James' new deal with PepsiCo would mean integrating their products at the pizza chain which has more than 300 locations across the country.
