A $2 Million Trip to Cleveland

Could you spend $2 million for a trip to Cleveland? I think it might prove challenging. Maybe you’d go for several nights (by several, we mean a couple of hundred) in the Presidential Suite at the Ritz Carlton. Maybe you'd arrive there on a chartered Concorde from, say, Fiji.

You could rent the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for your own private tour. You could eat the porterhouse at Morton’s every night and wash it down by cleaning out their cellar’s premium Super Tuscans. Rent a yacht on Lake Erie? Heck, maybe rent Lake Erie.

Perhaps you have some better ideas than I do about how to go through $2 million for your time in the Forest City. For instance, you might rent a suite to go see their basketball team play. The prices should go up any time now, because word is that their hoops team will be pretty good. The squad has high expectations because one of their players just paid $2 million for a trip to Cleveland.

As it turns out, that player will still receive approximately $42 million for a two-year sojourn to CLE.⁽¹⁾ But he could have stayed in Miami and made roughly $118 million over five years. So one could make the case that his decision to play for the Cavaliers will cost him roughly $2 million a year based on the average annual contract value.

Of course, he will likely not miss out on a future big payday. He should still be playing well enough in two years to earn another large contract and the salary cap could rise enough to allow a significantly higher top value. But the sum for his Ohio jaunt will still cost him seven-figures. And I bet it will be worth every penny.

We all try to be at least productive enough to merit sufficient remuneration to meet our basic needs. We then hope to make enough extra to cover emergencies and trade with others for items they’ve produced that further our pursuit of happiness (it was July 4th a few days ago - that phrase was still fresh in my mind). It’s up to us to decide what gives us happiness. For some, a new boat does the trick. Others choose to travel (to Cleveland, even), or buy a slightly better brand of beer, or purchase life insurance to provide for their children and grandchildren.

As an incredibly productive entertainer and endorser, LeBron has got the basics and the boats and the beers (or even entire breweries) covered for several generations of Jameses. So he decided to try to buy some other things.

He elected to purchase more time with the extended family and friends who live near his hometown. His wife probably likes that aspect of the move, so he chose to buy the pleasure that making her happy gives him. He bought a far greater than zero chance of giving his hometown team its first championship. And he chose to rectify the most glaring public relations error he’s ever made by returning to a city where many felt abandoned by him four years ago.

The above items all seem like pretty valuable purchases to have one’s shopping cart. James said as much in the announcement he posted at Sports Illustrated’s website.⁽²⁾

I do not believe happiness derived from honestly acquired material goods in any way ranks below other sorts. What gives one pleasure is an individual decision. It works the other way, too. I have had more than one set of friends who gave up substantial wealth to move without jobs to their desired locations. They effectively used the money they would have made in their old cities to buy the joy associated with their chosen postal codes. Good for them.

It works the same way for LeBron James. He didn’t leave money on the table in Miami. He used it to buy a big trip to C-town - and a lot of happiness.

Rush Olson has spent two decades directing creative efforts for sports teams and broadcasters. He currently creates ad campaigns and related creative projects for sports entities through his company, Rush Olson Creative & Sports.

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Footnotes

⁽¹⁾ Jeff Zillgitt, “LeBron James only takes 2-year contract with Cavaliers,” USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/cavaliers/2014/07/12/lebron-james-contract-two-years-cleveland-cavs/12578491/ (accessed July 13, 2014)

⁽²⁾ LeBron James (as told to Lee Jenkins), “LeBron: I'm coming back to Cleveland,” Sports Illustrated. http://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers (accessed July 13, 2014)