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Lebron, originally uploaded by mwklawit.

I am a witness. I watched Lebron James put on a scoring display as he hit 48 points, the last 25 points, and 29 out of the last 30 points on my beloved Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It got me to thinking about the branding of athletes, but not just any athletes, Nike athletes. How much is a Nike athlete worth? Six of the top ten highest paid athletes are Nike athletes: Tiger Woods, Michael Vick, Michael Jordan (who no longer plays basketball), Kobe Bryant, and Lance Armstrong. Nike pays their athletes unreal amounts of money, so that their unreal performances are captured and inked in history with the swoosh.

What comes to mind when you see the swoosh? Tiger winning his first Masters, Jordan winning his 6th world championship against Utah scoring over Byron Russell in the closing seconds, Kobe hitting 81 points on Toronto, or Lance Armstrong winning his 6th Tour De France. Is it the shoes? Do they make you perform better? Do you feel different? What imprint comes to mind when you think of Nike - dominance, victory, or power? Consumers spend unreal amounts of money for a piece of these athletes, their moments, and what they represent (athletically). Do the athletes make the brand value or does the value of the brand make the athlete?