LeBron James has always had a knack for timing. On the court, it’s buzzer-beaters and playoff masterpieces. Off it? The King recently made headlines twice in a single weekend, combining college football nostalgia with sports betting.

It began when the ACC Network shared a photo on X showing Florida State’s 2025 opener. The image captured quarterback Tommy Castellanos scoring the Seminoles’ first touchdown, alongside legend Peter Warrick and players like Dalvin Cook. The caption read: “This pic is tough 🔥 (📸 Melina Myers/Imagn Images).” LeBron quickly retweeted it.

“🐐 sighting!!! TOOOOOO 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥” The GOAT reference wasn’t about Castellanos or Cook—it was about Peter Warrick. For fans who recall Warrick’s dominance at Doak Campbell Stadium in the late ’90s, LeBron’s acknowledgment wasn’t casual. It served as a subtle reminder that icons recognize icons, with admiration extending beyond social media. This moment alone was newsworthy.

But LeBron wasn’t finished. Hours later, he appeared again, this time in a video with Kevin Hart announcing a major football partnership. His Instagram caption was direct: “NFL IS BACK Y’ALL & DraftKings Sportsbook is still the place to bet touchdowns! EVERY DAY of September @draftkings_sportsbook is giving away a $1,000 bonus bet including $20K in bonus bets at the end of the month 🔥 …” Then came the reel.

Los Angeles‘ King James set it up with his trademark delivery: “Listen up, man, DraftKings gave up $50,000 last year to kick off the NFL season. Which is why we’re back to do it again. So, starting tomorrow for the whole month of September, we’ll be giving away a $1,000 bonus bet every single day.”

Hart, never one to miss a beat himself, added: “At the end of the month, 20k more. Four lucky winners are getting 5k bonus bets each. Don’t forget to send in y’all’s slips, you’ll be able to know what y’all cooking up.” And then LeBron closed it like a closer should.

“Woo! If you want a chance to win, all you gotta do is follow DraftKings Sportsbook and comment your favorite anytime touchdown scoring for the week.” Now the thing is, LeBron is usually locked into training camp prep in September. Yet here he is, hyping college football legends and NFL betting giveaways. The dual play says a lot. For one, it shows LeBron’s fingerprints extend beyond basketball. He’s as much a curator of sports culture as he is a competitor.

King James is expanding his horizons

Because this is not the first time LeBron James and Kevin Hart have teamed up to blend sports and entertainment. Their 2024 DraftKings campaign had Hart joking about LeBron trading basketball for football, while LeBron played along and hyped NFL betting offers. In 2025, they’re back with daily bonus bets, keeping the humor and energy alive.

And just this year, prior to the DraftKings announcement, James and Hart collaborated on a campaign for the mobile puzzle game Royal Kingdom. The campaign featured six ads (three for each star) released between April 14 and June 16, 2025. In the “Conspiracy” spot, James humorously hid his gaming obsession by pretending to read classic literature, while Hart’s “Acting School” ad showed him training actors to impersonate him to free up time for gaming.

Notably, LeBron’s collaboration with these brands isn’t the only news worth noting this offseason. In July 2025, Misko Raznatovic, Jokic’s European agent, posted an Instagram photo of himself with LeBron James and James’ business partner, Maverick Carter, on a yacht in Saint-Tropez. The caption, “The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026!”

According to Front Office Sports, the yacht meeting focused on discussions about an international basketball league, with Carter seeking to raise $5 billion in funding, backed by investors like the Singapore government, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and others. LeBron’s involvement would lend unparalleled credibility to such a venture, given his global fame and business acumen.

This move clearly aligns with James’ history of high-profile business endeavors, such as his investments in Mitchell & Ness alongside Hart in 2022, and reflects his strategic approach to expanding his influence beyond the NBA.

Beyond his on-screen collaborations, though, LeBron’s influence stretches across sports history itself. His admiration of Peter Warrick reads like a bridge across sports and generations. Though they’ve never shared a locker room, their connection is clear in moments like these, and when LeBron’s 2018 tweet celebrating the retirement of Warrick’s No. 9 jersey, “The reason I wore #9 at wideout in HS! Congrats Peter Warrick!” made waves online. 

It hints at a man whose playing days may be in their last stretch. Year 23 is here. That alone is a sentence that should make fans pause. Because yes, he’s still producing as last season saw him put up 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.9 rebounds in purple and gold. But the whispers have grown louder. 

With Luka Doncic now commanding the Lakers’ offense, LeBron’s locker room voice doesn’t carry the same singular weight it once did. He’s still the standard, but he’s no longer the sole center of gravity. That matters, especially for someone whose legacy has always been tethered to control and impact. Golf in the offseason. Social campaigns. Now football partnerships.

It all adds up. LeBron has been broadening his brand for years, but the frequency has picked up. Clearly, it looks like LeBron is setting the stage for life after basketball even as he gears up for another 82-game grind.

For now, though, LeBron is doing what he’s always done: staying everywhere at once. One day, he can amplify an FSU legend and an NFL betting giveaway within hours. The other, he’ll be back in the gym preparing for camp. It’s the LeBron way, in its truest form – control the narrative, control the moment, and remind everyone he’s still here.

Two headlines in one weekend. Both bigger than they look on the surface. And both classic LeBron James.