According to a Forbes report, LeBron James is the first active basketball player to make $1 billion in earnings. The Lakers star made more than any other athlete last year and now has a net worth of 10 figures.
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The 18-time All-Star made $121.2 million between May 2021 and May 2022, as per the report. James earned $41.2 million in contract from the Lakers, making him the fifth highest-paid player in the league last season.
With this achievement, James ranks second on Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes, behind only Argentinian soccer sensation Messi, who earned $130 million during the same period. Steph Curry, a fellow basketball player, came in after James with total earnings of $90 million.
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James now ranks second on Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes, trailing the Argentinian soccer sensation Lionel Messi, who earned $130 million during the same time period. Meanwhile, Steph Curry is also on the list with $90 million in earnings.
“It’s my biggest milestone,” James told GQ in 2014. “Obviously. I want to maximize my business. And if I happen to get it, if I happen to be a billion-dollar athlete, ho. Hip hip, hooray! Oh, my God, I’m gonna be excited.”
James’ first deal
James was born to a struggling 16-year-old single mother in Akron, Ohio. Before becoming the most anticipated high school basketball prospect of all time, James lived with various family members, acquaintances, neighbors, and his peewee football coach — moving a dozen times in three years.
In 2003, when he was only 18 years old, he signed his first contract with Nike. He is notably known for turning down offers from Reebok and Adidas in favor of what he perceived to be the better long-term partner.
In late 2015, he signed a lifetime contract with Nike that pays him millions of dollars a year. As a result of his sponsorships with Nike and other companies like AT&T and PepsiCo, he was the second highest-earning athlete globally.
Key to James’ billion-dollar fortune
The real key to James’ billion-dollar fortune is that he has done more than just pitch. James prefers long-term partnership agreements that provide him with equity in the brands with which he collaborates over one-time payments.
When McDonald’s offered James an endorsement deal for an estimated $15 million over four years in 2015, he turned it down to invest in the fast-growing Blaze Pizza restaurant. Aside from ride-hailing giant Lyft, he’s also taken equity in smart gym maker Tonal.
James’s essential fortune also includes Maverick Carter’s production company, SpringHill, founded by James and his business partner, Maverick Carter.
Investors such as Fenway Sports Group, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, and Epic Games paid $725 million for the endeavor in October of last year, which produced the $163 million (global box office gross) Space Jam: A New Legacy and the HBO documentary What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali. James, of course, is the company’s most important shareholder.
James follows in Jordan’s footsteps
James is once again following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, the first (former) basketball star to become a billionaire.
Jordan did not become a member of the exclusive club until 2014, more than a decade after his playing career ended. However, James has a long way to go before catching up to the player who many people still consider to be the greatest.
Jordan was declared the highest-paid athlete of all time by Sportico a year ago, having earned $2.62 billion in lifetime earnings when those earnings were adjusted for inflation.