Maverick Carter

{{Infobox person

| name = Maverick Carter

| image = Maverick Carter on The Shop - 2019.jpg

| caption = Maverick Carter in 2019

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|10|10}}

| birth_place = Ohio, U.S.

| occupation = {{hlist|Businessman|media personality}}

| organization = SpringHill Company
Uninterrupted

| alma_mater = St. Vincent–St. Mary High School

| known_for = Business manager of LeBron James

}}

Maverick Carter is an American sports marketing businessman and executive who is the chief executive officer (CEO) of SpringHill Company, Uninterrupted, and the Robot Company, all part of the holding company LRMR Ventures, which he co-founded with LeBron James.

Early life and education

Maverick Carter was born on October 10, 1981.{{cite web|url=https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maverick-carter/|title=Maverick Carter|work=TV Insider|accessdate=August 30, 2024}}

{{cite web|last=Whitlock|first=Jason|author-link=Jason Whitlock|url=http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/Getting-to-know-the-real-Maverick-Carter-LeBron-James-business-manager-childhood-friend-040711 |title=Maverick Carter out to silence critics|date=April 7, 2011|accessdate=August 30, 2024|quote="As you pass him in the idling S550, you would not mistake the 29-year-old CEO for a pro athlete, an actor, a singer or an entertainer."}}
{{cite web|last=Rhoden|first=William C.|url=https://andscape.com/features/for-maverick-carter-running-lebron-james-empire-was-always-the-game-plan/|title=For Maverick Carter, running King James' empire was always the game plan|work=Andscape|date=May 25, 2018|accessdate=August 30, 2024|quote="Carter and I were introduced in 2006. James was 21 at the time and had just completed his third NBA season with Cleveland. Carter was 24."}} He spent most of his youth in Akron, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia. Carter grew up the son of Katherine Powers, a social worker, and Otis Carter.{{cite web|url=http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/Getting-to-know-the-real-Maverick-Carter-LeBron-James-business-manager-childhood-friend-040711 |title=Maverick Carter out to silence critics |author=Jason Whitlock |date=April 7, 2011}} Carter and LeBron James became friends at the age of eight.{{cite web|last=Bhattacharji|first=Alex|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-day-in-the-life-of-maverick-carter-1536760782|title=A Day in the Life of Maverick Carter|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=September 12, 2018|accessdate=August 30, 2024}} Both played basketball and football at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School (SVSM) in Akron.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/business/corner-office-maverick-carter.html|title=LeBron James's Business Partner Now Wants to Get Out the Vote|work=The New York Times|first=David|last=Galles|date=June 19, 2020|access-date=March 6, 2022}} He also played on the same team as Jay Williams at the Five Star Camp.{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Jay|author-link=Jay Williams (basketball)|url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1069848572|title=Maverick Carter on Building the LeBron James Empire|work=The Limits with Jay Williams|publisher=NPR|date=January 4, 2022|accessdate=August 30, 2024}} After graduating from SVSM, Carter played college basketball for one season at Western Michigan before transferring to the University of Akron. Carter attended Western Michigan University but left after his freshman year to intern in Nike's basketball sports marketing department.

Career

Carter interned with Nike, withdrawing from college to become a Nike field representative. He later secured a full-time position at Nike before joining James as a business associate in 2004. He became the business manager of James in 2005.

In 2010, Carter managed the production of The Decision, a television special announcing James's move from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat. In 2011, he arranged a deal between LRMR and Fenway Sports Group that secured James a partial stake in Liverpool F.C. and bolstered his overseas profile.{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703280904576246640754493456 |title=LeBron James, Fenway in Deal |first=Mattew |last=Futterman |date=April 7, 2011 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal}} In the same year, he also developed The LeBrons series of commercials featuring caricatures of James.

In 2013, Carter founded SpringHill Entertainment, followed by the launch of Uninterrupted in the following year. In 2014, Carter, together with Paul Wachter, negotiated a Nike endorsement deal for James that was reported to be worth over $1 billion.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-06-25/lebron-james-maverick-carter-s-springhill-to-be-a-media-empire|title=LeBron James Gets $100 Million Investment to Build Media Empire |first=Jason |last=Kelly |date=June 25, 2020 |website=Bloomberg}} Wachter also assisted in establishing partnerships with Cannondale and Beats Electronics, the latter of which reportedly generated more than $100 million in earnings for James following Apple Inc.'s acquisition of Beats in 2014. Later in 2014, Carter moved to Los Angeles and signed a production deal with Warner Bros. Entertainment. In 2015, Uninterrupted raised $23 million in funding from Warner Bros. Entertainment and Turner Sports.

In 2016, Carter donated $1 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.{{Cite web|url=https://nmaahc.si.edu/about/news/lebron-james-contributes-25-million-national-museum-african-american-history-and|title=LeBron James Contributes $2.5 Million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Muhammad Ali Display}}

In 2020, Carter co-founded SpringHill Company with LeBron James with an investment of $100 million. Named after the Akron apartment complex where James lived in sixth grade, the company consolidated three businesses: the Robot Co., SpringHill Entertainment, and Uninterrupted. Before its merger, SpringHill Entertainment completed at least 19 film and television projects, including a Netflix limited series about Madam C.J. Walker starring Octavia Spencer, the Disney XD series Becoming, the Starz series Survivor's Remorse, the NBC game show The Wall, the Bleacher Report spinoff Uninterrupted, and Space Jam: A New Legacy.{{cite web |last=Ford |first=Rebecca |date=July 22, 2015 |title=LeBron James' SpringHill Entertainment Signs Deal With Warner Bros. |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lebron-james-springhill-entertainment-signs-810489 |accessdate=May 16, 2016 |work=The Hollywood Reporter}} Carter and James provided $1.3 million to the initial winners of their game show The Wall. Likewise, Uninterrupted worked with 250 professional athletes, including Serena Williams and Odell Beckham Jr.

In 2021, Carter parlayed a deal whereby he and James each gained part ownership stakes of the Boston Red Sox.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rays/2021/03/17/lebron-james-becomes-partner-in-group-that-owns-red-sox/|title=LeBron James becomes partner in group that owns Red Sox|website=Tampa Bay Times}}

In 2022, Carter was an executive producer, alongside James and Drake, of Hubert Davis's documentary film Black Ice.{{Cite web |last=Vlessing |first=Etan |date=2021-07-29 |title=LeBron James, Drake, Maverick Carter to Exec Produce Hockey Racial Reckoning Doc ‘Black Ice’ |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/lebron-james-drake-maverick-carter-exec-produce-hockey-doc-black-ice-1234989646/ |access-date=2023-08-29 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}