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We’re Rich: LeBron James is Projected to Pump $430 Million into Philly’s Economy
By Matt Schultz
Published:
LeBron James signing with the Sixers has already felt like a massive win, and it sounds like it’s about to get even better. According to The Boyd Company, a development consulting group, LeBron could generate between $250-$430 million in and around Philly just by being on the Sixers — and that’s just in his first year alone:
You may be wondering where The Boyd Company got this number or how they calculated it. Allow me to ease your mind by telling you that it does not matter. I trust the Boyd Company. I trust the Boyd Co. BizCosts Economic Impact Model. I’ve always trusted them. They wouldn’t lie to us and they wouldn’t make things up just to go viral. Not the Boyd Company I know. I’ve heard of them before today.
Now, with that out of the way, we can really bask in the good news here: Turns out we’re rich. As if the last few days haven’t been among the best of my Sixers-fan life, things keep on looking up. To recap:
-The Sixers have added a still-very-good power forward for the vet minimum.
-That incredibly cheap power forward is LeBron James, which is sick. He’s maybe the best player ever and we get to see him in a Sixers uniform. It’s nuts.
-The LeBron signing wouldn’t have happened if the Celtics didn’t first trade Jaylen Brown to the Sixers like absolute dumb shits, a move that will now go down as one of the most brutal, most devastating self-owns in modern sports history.
-Sixers fans now get to root for an actual championship contender.
-We get to watch fanbases in Miami and New York and San Francisco and Boston absolutely lose their minds with jealousy and rage, trying and failing over and over to turn LeBron’s signing into a bad thing and act like they wouldn’t love to be in our shoes.
And now, on top of all that, LeBron is about to get Philadelphia a whole bunch of money. I can’t wait to get a bunch of money. That’s one of the best feelings there is. And knowing it’s on the way, at times, can be even better than the moment you actually receive it. The anticipation of money. That’s nice.
Of course, in the wake of this news, the big questions left to answer are: “Exactly how much of this local economic boost will go toward Crossing Broad? Are websites included in ‘local economy generation?’ Will Crossing Broad get a good chunk of that $400 million?” I’ve been seeing a lot of this worry online. I would put the tweets in this blog but there are too many. I can’t pick which ones.
While it’s a good question, and I’m glad that everyone’s wondering how much well-deserved money Crossing Broad will get, allow me to put readers’ minds at ease: We’re going to do everything in our power to get some, if not most, of that money. Because even though I love that Philadelphia’s local economy is going to be boosted by LeBron’s presence, I’d argue that no one deserves the boost more than Philadelphia’s irreverent sports blog. What businesses in or around Philly have done more for the city than Crossing Broad? Who’s been more irreverent than us? The answer is no one. If a payday is finally coming in the city of Philadelphia, we know as well as you do that Crossing Broad should be first in line.
All that’s left to do is figure out how exactly Crossing Broad can capitalize. The money will be here. It’s coming to Philadelphia. The Boyd Company said it. We just gotta pinpoint the way we’re going to go out and grab it. It’s an exciting challenge, and one that I’ve been thinking a lot about today. Here are a few early ideas I’m kicking around:
Some Very Early Ideas on How Crossing Broad Can Get A Lot of the Incoming LeBron Money (Will Flesh These Out More Later)
-We get the merch store going again. We get a bunch of LeBron-themed merch in there.
-LeBron t-shirts. This can be its own whole category. Plenty of different stuff to put on the shirts.
-“LeBron James is a Sixer.” Something simple like that. Just gets the ball rolling.
-“CLE ➜MIA ➜ LA ➜ PHI” That could be the words. The picture itself could be simple. A plane. Or maybe a plane on the front of the shirt and a basketball on the back. Or a crown because he’s King James. The crown on the front and back would be good. That’d be clearer.
“King James [handshake emoji] The City of Brotherly Love” These are just simple ideas for now. Placeholder.
-The backs of the shirts will say “Crossingbroad.com” on them. Forget to mention.
-Maybe a QR code as well. On the shirt sleeve.
-LeBron coffee mug. This could be shaped like a medieval wooden cup because he’s King James. A wooden cup or a chalice.
-Podcast. “LeBroncast.” With advertisers. Lot of money to be made there. Look at Rogan.
-Posters. Like a big poster if we can get the rights to a picture, if there’s a certain dunk we want as a poster. If legally we can.
-LeBron-themed events. This would be in the style of Fanatics Fest but it’d be Crossing Broad. I don’t know what would happen at the fest. This is just a placeholder. For something like an event there’s not necessarily a limit to what you can do there. We would have to get the permits first and then go from there. It’d be based on the size of the space. To plan out what the fest would be before we have permits in-hand would be a waste of time. Once we knew the size of the space is when that bridge should be crossed.
-LeBron-themed newsletters we can send out to people who subscribe ($400 a month).
-TMZ-style reporting on LeBron’s whereabouts in the newsletter. That’s included. That’s its own section. I could follow him to New York. That could become a main part of my job. Or maybe we outsource this to a freelancer. Crossing Broad’s own version of Brian Windhorst or Dave McMenamin who follows LeBron around a lot. A young, hungry kid who isn’t afraid of trying to sneak into LeBron’s home or car if need be. We could post this on Indeed.
-If you Venmo me $500 I could ask LeBron whatever question you want at his press availability. Just Venmo me the $500 and type in your question where the Venmo emoji/explanation is supposed to go, and I’ll go in there and ask him. Or I could even just say something in particular to him. It doesn’t have to be a question. But either way it would cost $500. I’d need the money upfront.
These are just a few ideas. I’ll think of more before LeBron gets here. This money is coming at a good time for me.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com