LeBron James will make the veteran’s minimum of about $3.9 million next season in the first year of his two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Nearly 300 NBA players will earn more than James, according to USA Today, while, in a sign of the changing times in college sports triggered by Name, Image and Likeness rules, almost 20 college players will take home more than the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, per The Athletic.
James made nearly $53 million last season with the L.A. Lakers, but will take a major pay cut this season to pursue his fifth NBA championship in Philadelphia.
But he won’t go hungry. Forbes named James—whose net worth is valued at $1.4 billion as of Friday—a billionaire in 2022.
“This is my final decision,” James announced on X/Twitter. “I’m not doing it for the money. I’m not doing it for family. Why am I really playing right now? I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to push myself. I still want to compete, win, and have a chance to feel the thrill of victory, another championship.”
In the NBA, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, one of the teams James spurned to sign with the 76ers, will be the NBA’s highest-paid player next season at $62,587,158.
But the list of players who will earn more than James also includes Knicks reserve guard Deuce McBride ($3,956,523) and San Antonio Spurs rookie and former Kentucky forward Jayden Quaintaince ($3,902,760).
“One, LeBron chose to accept far less than his value,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas said. “He had a $50M player option with the Lakers. Two, the NBA has a CBA that is agreed upon by the players. You don’t hear about lawsuits in the NBA because the league doesn’t violate federal antitrust law. Third, college players have tremendous value in the marketplace, as evidenced by rising player salaries. When the NCAA illegally restricted players to a scholarship only, it told us only a few players were worth more than a scholarship. That was nonsense, and now proven to be false. College sports is a multi- billion dollar industry with multi-billion dollar media rights deals. Of course the revenue drivers should and will be compensated to the level of their value. That’s why the NCAA is lobbying Congress to limit athletes, while not asking for a limit for anything or anyone else.
“LeBron’s decision to accept less from Philly isn’t indicative of a problem or an issue. There are many NBA players that are not as valuable as LeBron that will make far more over the next two years. It’s a choice from an individual player that had a choice. Until recently, college athletes were illegally denied choice.”
As for the college game, there is no public list of salaries so information is harder to pin down.
Florida’s Thomas Haugh, who withdrew from the NBA Draft to return to college, could earn up to $10 million this season, more than double James’ salary, per Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.
“That obviously played into it, but for me it’s not really about that,” Haugh said when he decided to return to college. “I’m not a money guy like that. I love wearing the orange and blue and I want to represent my school. I think a lot of times now in college basketball, you see people chasing a check and chasing that stuff, but for me honestly, it’s just pride. I love playing here and I want to give 100% to my coaches.”
Florida coach Todd Golden told ESPN: “The unique angle that we were able to drive home to Tommy’s family and [agent] Aaron Klevan, this dude has real bottom-line NIL value. That’s an area right now where elite college athletes have an advantage over mid-tier pros. Tommy Haugh’s legitimate NIL value at Florida is 10-20 times what his NIL value would be on an NBA team next year. Because of the brand awareness at Florida, he will have been here for four years, all of those things along with him returning, our supporters really appreciate the loyalty.”
Other college players expected to earn more than James include Kentucky’s Milan Momcilovic, who is getting between $6-8 million after leaving Iowa State and withdrawing from the NBA Draft, depending on which source you believe.
St. John’s has two players who will make more than James in Baylor transfer wing Tounde Yessoufou (approximately $6 million) and point guard Quinn Ellis (north of $4 million).
“I think it’s wonderful and the reason being, 90 percent of these players making these salaries are helping their parents out that have struggled to raise these guys,” Rick Pitino said via phone. “Ninety percent of them are helping their families out who are struggling to raise them.”