Lewis Hamilton, last year's 2nd place finisher in the F1 circuit in his debut season, is slated to sign a deal to become a "global brand ambassador" for Reebok.

It is expected to be worth about $20 million a year -- not bad scratch for a guy who has been on the world racing scene for only a year.

Hamilton, a sporting megastar in the UK, will join football stars (or "soccer" for the heathens in the crowd) Thierry Henry and Andrei Shevchenko as fellow global ambassadors on the Adidas-owned company.

Traditionally, McLaren does not allow its drivers to seek deals outside its own pool of sponsors, which in addition to Vodafone includes Hilton, Hugo Boss, Santander and Tag Heuer. (I'm sure they'll have to work out a deal for a huge patch on the driver's firesuit.)

However, despite having only one year's track experience in F1, Hamilton is one of sport's most marketable stars, prompting McLaren to make an exception.