As LeBron James Turns 40, Earnings in NBA Exceed $1.5 Billion

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LeBron James turned 40 years old on Monday and continues to defy Father Time on the court with a scoring average of 23.5 points per game on 50% shooting. The previous high-water scoring mark for a player in his 40s: 14.6 by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during the 1987-88 season.

James’ off-court game is even stronger, with a projected $134 million in earnings this season from his salary and endorsements. The tally will push his career earnings north of $1.5 billion since he was drafted. It includes an estimated $505 million in playing salary—net of escrow deductions—and more than $1 billion from endorsements, merchandise, licensing and his media business.

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James skipped college to enter the NBA in 2003—the NBA banned drafting high school players two years later. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the lottery to select James and signed him to the pre-determined deal for the top pick of $18.8 million over four years. His next four-year deal was worth $60 million, but James declined his player option in Year 4 and moved to South Beach with his infamous “Decision.”

His playing salary continued to climb as the salary cap soared. But switching home cities from Cleveland to Miami and back to Cleveland and then to Los Angeles typically kept James from earning the league’s top salary, as the NBA CBA incentives players to re-sign with their current teams to maximum earnings, The 2016-17 season was the only season James topped the NBA’s salary charts, with Stephen Curry the leader the past eight years.

James has made twice as much off the court as he has from his player salaries. He entered the NBA armed with endorsement deals from Nike, Coca-Cola and Upper Deck. James’ first Nike deal was worth more than $100 million, including bonuses and royalties, over seven years. He signed two renewals with Nike since that initial pact. The latest was signed in late 2015 and is a lifetime deal that his longtime business manager Maverick Cater said will pay out at least $1 billion.

The four-time MVP maintains a deep endorsement portfolio with more than a dozen brands, including AT&T, Crypto.com, DraftKings, GMC…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lebron-james-turns-40-earnings-203826714.html

Author : Sportico

Publish date : 2024-12-30 20:38:00

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