LeBron is the first Laker billionaire, this is how Magic wasted an opportunity to became one

A Los Angeles Lakers legend once rejected a deal without knowing that one day would've been worth more than 5 Billion dollars. Earvin "Magic" Johnson now regrets it, but most probably would've done the same at the time.

Earvin Johnson was 19 years old when he signed with the Lakers; once he was doing great, different sport shoe companies tried to get him to have his line of shoes.

One of those brands was Nike, but at the time, it was just starting; it didn't have a name and offered a special deal to Magic; instead of paying him annually, Phil Knight offered him shares.

If Johnson had chosen the Nike deal instead of going with Converse, he would now have 5 Billion dollars more than what he has made all his life. But, instead, he got 100,000 annually on that first deal.

Magic ended with Nike anyway but without the money

The irony of this situation is that Magic ended up with Nike without earning the 5 Million dollars. Instead, Nike bought Converse, and at the time, Johnson picked the cash Converse offered instead of the 100,000 in stock options.