Maverick Carter is an American

sports marketing Sports marketing as a concept has established itself as a branch of marketing over the past few decades; however, a generally accepted definition does not exist. Academicians Kaser and Oelkers (2005, p. 9) define sports marketing as 'using spor ...

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

who is the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of

SpringHill Company SpringHill Company is an entertainment development and production company founded in 2020 by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. Its board of directors includes Serena Williams. The company unites three earlier companies founded by James and Carter ...

, Uninterrupted, and the Robot Company, all part of the holding company LRMR Ventures, which he co-founded with

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

Early life and education

Maverick Carter was born on October 10, 1981. He spent most of his youth in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia. Carter grew up the son of Katherine Powers, a social worker, and Otis Carter. Carter and

became friends at the age of eight. Both played basketball and football at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School (SVSM) in Akron. He also played on the same team as Jay Williams at the Five Star Camp. After graduating from SVSM, Carter played college basketball for one season at

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

before transferring to the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

. 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 Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

, 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 The Oxford English Dictionary defines a business manager as "a person who manages the business affairs of an individual, institution, organization, or company". Compare manager. Business managers drive the work of others (if any) in order to op ...

of James in 2005. In 2010, Carter managed the production of '' The Decision'', a television special announcing James's move from the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

to the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

. In 2011, he arranged a deal between LRMR and

Fenway Sports Group Fenway Sports Group Holdings, LLC (FSG), is an American multinational sports holding conglomerate which owns Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox, Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins, NAS ...

that secured James a partial stake in

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

and bolstered his overseas profile. In the same year, he also developed '' The LeBrons'' series of commercials featuring caricatures of James. In 2013, Carter founded

SpringHill Entertainment SpringHill Company is an entertainment development and production company founded in 2020 by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. Its board of directors includes Serena Williams. The company unites three earlier companies founded by James and Carter ...

, 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. Wachter also assisted in establishing partnerships with

Cannondale Cannondale Bicycle Corporation is an American division of Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings that supplies bicycles. Its headquarters are in Wilton, Connecticut, with engineering offices in Freiburg, Germany. Frames are manufactured in Taiwan. Bik ...

and

Beats Electronics Beats Electronics, LLC (also known as Beats by Dr. Dre, Beats by Dre or simply Beats) is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California. The company was founded in 2006 by the music producer Dr. Dre and ...

, the latter of which reportedly generated more than $100 million in earnings for James following

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

's acquisition of Beats in 2014. Later in 2014, Carter moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and signed a production deal with

Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

. In 2015, Uninterrupted raised $23 million in funding from

and

Turner Sports TNT Sports is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery in the United States that is responsible for Sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's streaming service, Max (streaming service), Max, and primarily the TruTV, TBS (Americ ...

. In 2016, Carter donated $1 million to the

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), colloquially known as the Blacksonian, is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in 2003 an ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 2020, Carter co-founded

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 Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

limited series about '' Madam C.J. Walker'' starring

Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy ...

, the Disney XD series ''Becoming'', the

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

series ''

Survivor's Remorse ''Survivor's Remorse'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Mike O'Malley that aired on Starz. It premiered on October 4, 2014, and ended on October 15, 2017. The plot centers around the lives of Cam Calloway (Jessie Usher, ...

'', the NBC game show ''

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/ EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera which explores Pink, a jaded rock star, as he constructs a psychologic ...

'', the

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

spinoff ''Uninterrupted'', and '' Space Jam: A New Legacy''. 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 Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...

and

Odell Beckham Jr. Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. (born November 5, 1992), commonly known by his initials OBJ, is an American professional American football, football wide receiver. He played college football for the LSU Tigers football, LSU Tigers and was selected ...

In 2021, Carter parlayed a deal whereby he and James each gained part ownership stakes of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. In 2022, Carter was an executive producer, alongside James and

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

, of

Hubert Davis Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball, North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching care ...

's documentary film ''

Black Ice Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, is a coating of glaze ice on a surface, for example on streets or on lakes. The ice itself is not black, but visually transparent, allowing the often black road below to be seen through it and light to be ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Maverick Living people 21st-century African-American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople African-American company founders African-American film producers African-American television producers American mass media company founders American men's basketball players Basketball players from Akron, Ohio Basketball players from Atlanta Businesspeople from Akron, Ohio Businesspeople from Atlanta Date of birth missing (living people) Fenway Sports Group people Film producers from Georgia (U.S. state) Film producers from Ohio Mass media people from Atlanta Nike, Inc. people Place of birth missing (living people) St. Vincent–St. Mary High School alumni Television producers from Georgia (U.S. state) Television producers from Ohio Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball players Year of birth missing (living people)