Could LeBron James Ever Surpass Michael Jordan's Cultural Impact?

LeBron James may one day become the cash-stacking, trend-setting pan-media mogul Michael Jordan is. But if he ever reaches that level, he'll owe a debt to the man who blazed the trail.

That's because the basketball-player-as-business-icon game, driven by the commodification of cool and the sale of sneakers, is still one dominated by the man himself.

James: Trying His Best

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According to Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.com, James makes an estimated $20 million per year from Nike. His signature shoes accounted for approximately $300 million in sales in 2013, making them the most lucrative of any active player's specific kicks.

His equity in Beats headphones earned him a reported $30 million when Apple bought the company. He's a pitch man for McDonald's and a ubiquitous presence in television ads for Samsung. He also collects loads of cash from endorsements in Asia that include Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins.

A partnership with Fenway Sports Management netted James part ownership of Liverpool FC, which is among the most popular clubs in parts of the world outside the U.K.—especially Asia.

All told, Forbes estimates James has made $326 million in endorsements since coming into the league as a teenage phenom, including $53 million last season. He collected more than $50 million in each of the past two years between his salary and endorsements, and his year-over-year earnings have increased consistently since 2003-04.

Chump change.

Jordan: Still Dominating

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That $300 million in sales of James' signature shoe sounds impressive...until you learn Jordan brand apparel did $2.25 billion in the same year, according to another report from Badenhausen. Jordan didn't collect more than a fraction of that number, but he still made an estimated $90 million last year (20 percent more than James without an NBA salary).

And for Jordan, being a cultural icon isn't solely about the money, though James will almost certainly have to become MJ's rival in finance before we consider him equal in sphere of influence.

Jordan's legend (and it is a legend, by the way, which is another reason LeBron has so far to go to catch him; James is merely human at this point) is about more than cash. It's about creating a brand, cultivating cool.

When Jordan signed a $500,000 deal with Nike in 1984 for a signature shoe, the NBA did everything it could to stop him. It banned his shoes and fined him $5,000 in every game he wore them.

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Combining his business sense with his inborn defiance, Jordan rocked them anyway. And Nike picked up the tab on the fines.

That's a cool move. Jordan flouted the rules. He stood up to the power structure, which, viewed in context with his otherwise very uncontroversial public life (he deliberately avoided stances on touchy political issues), seems shocking in retrospect.

It's hard to know if Jordan benefited from such a guerrilla start to his life in business, but it's worth noting that he triumphed in a market that was far harder to navigate than the one James exists in today. Now, instead of banning shoes, the league pushes Kia Optimas out onto the court for Blake Griffin to jump over in dunk contests.

Jordan taught a reluctant NBA that the best way to market itself was through individual players, but he had to fight to do it. And you'd have to assume he'll continue to fight for his market primacy.

All the cash Jordan makes is one thing, but his continued recognizability and approval make it tough to imagine James overtaking him.

Per Badenhausen: "Jordan’s Q score, which gauges awareness and popularity, has been tops among sports fans every year since 1991. His 25 million Facebook fans are 43 percent more than any other U.S. athlete."

The fact that MJ is more recognizable and popular than James right now, despite the fact that His Airness hasn't done the thing that initially made him famous for over a decade, is remarkable. In fact, it makes it difficult to imagine LeBron ever surpassing Jordan in that regard.

To do so, James would have to become significantly more popular than he is right now, which seems almost impossible.

A New World

Jordan built his empire in the pre-Internet age, which makes his rise that much more astounding. At the same time, James understands how the world has shrunk, and he's been better than Jordan at utilizing social media and technology to grow his brand in avenues MJ never considered.

Perhaps that's the secret. Perhaps James will find more ways to reach his fans, to influence culture.

He already has his own app, and he's diving into television production, with two shows set to premiere this year. In terms of multimedia, James is already ahead of Jordan—even if he's still being actively influenced by His Airness.

"I'm really excited about helping develop Becoming and bringing this kind of program to kids," James said in a statement, via ESPN.com. "Sports and athletes were my inspiration growing up. It was the stories about Michael Jordan, Deion Sanders and Allen Iverson that kept me dreaming. When I learned that they had some of the same struggles and challenges I did, it made everything seem possible."

Younger fans (if not this generation, then the next) may not relate to Jordan the same way they will to LeBron—especially if the latter is making his way into their smartphones and TV sets. At some point, MJ will become the guy whose logo is on a pair of shoes, and it's even possible some especially young fans won't even realize Jordan once played.

Ask a bunch of 15-year-olds whose likeness is on the NBA logo (it's Jerry West, kids), and you're likely to get far more shrugged shoulders than you would from a group of 30-year-olds. The same thing could happen here.

If Jordan is just a guy with a cigar on a golf course to young fans, maybe he's not as cool as someone still winning titles on the court and setting trends everywhere else. Then again, there are plenty of brands that maintain influence and cultural ubiquity long after their namesakes have faded away. Maybe Jordan is Levi Strauss or James Barclay.

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Who knows?

Getting by Giving

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James is in his prime, on TV, playing hoops, pitching products and capitalizing on his popularity. He's everywhere.

Jordan is in full icon mode. You don't see him often, and he's becoming a bit more withdrawn (a cool guy move if ever there was one) as he ages. He sits back and smirks at the world while James sprints up to smile and shake its hand.

His days of changing things are over. He already pioneered the shaved head, the longer shorts, the endless string of chill-inducing commercials.

James has yet to put those kinds of stamps on the game and its fans.

But he has an opportunity to do something Jordan never did. He can use his social conscience to make an impact through charity.

That's not to say Jordan wasn't concerned with effecting change outside of his own bank account and reputation. But it's hard to ignore the way James has made giving back a priority.

Per Sam Amick of USA Today, James explained:

"

I'm 11 years in, (and) I feel like I'm in a great place as far as my professional career and I feel like as far as off the court, that's the more meaningful thing for me. I believe my calling is much higher than basketball, and I will continue to use that tool to continue to inspire because it has helped out a lot.

"

We've never heard anything like that from Jordan.

If James ever reaches MJ's level of fame and influence, this is how he'll do it: with a far more human touch.

Homage to the Master

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LeBron's public-relations missteps (The Decision, principally) have made him more eager to please, while Jordan never had to make amends during his career. Playing at a time when the media wasn't salivating for schadenfreude certainly helped.

Jordan commodified cool, but he did it with a complicit press that ate it up and rarely tried to tear it down.

Nobody stays on top forever, and James is definitely making progress toward Jordan's throne as an icon. If the young gun ever catches the old dog, he'll owe his predecessor a great deal.

Because even if James eventually does it better, Jordan did it first.