LeBron James Net Worth: Nothing but Net
How would you like to take home $44,474,988 in a year? That is how much LeBron James earned in the last season. That is close to $1,827,000 per week. Most people do not make that much money working a lifetime. In 2021, LeBron James will make about $31 million for his salary and $64 million from endorsements. Also, he signed a new two-year contract extension with LA Lakers, where he will earn about $42 million per year. That is a “serious bank” that helps build LeBron James’ net worth.
What would you do with that kind of money if you had LeBron James net worth? You could buy a brand-new fancy sports car every week. You may have to save up for a few months to buy a luxury house. It might take a half year to save up enough to buy a private jet or a yacht or you could just rent one when you need it. And, the “bling” you could buy would be crazy good.
What Created LeBron James Net Worth
Over his career so far, LeBron James collected close to $400 million in playing salary and more than that amount in endorsement money. His current net worth is about $600 million. James is not the highest net worth athlete; however, in the richest athletes net worth category, he is one of the richest athletes of all time.
LeBron James Player’s Salary And Endorsements
LeBron James’ net worth comes from his annual salary of $44 million and an additional $55 million a year in endorsements. He has lucrative endorsement deals with Coca-Cola, Dunkin Donuts, Nike, McDonalds, and many others. He gets $20 to $32 million a year for his signature brand of Nike athletic shoes.
LeBron James Investments
LeBron James’ net worth increased from his ownership stake in a company called Beats founded by Dr. Dre. Beats makes high-end audio gear like headphones and popular earbuds. The Beats company sold to Apple for $3 billion. For his one-percent stake, he got $30 million. He also makes money from his production company called SpringHill Entertainment and a media company called Uninterrupted that he founded.
James owns a large stake in Blaze Pizza, which is the second-fastest-growing chain of pizza restaurants in America. He also owns 17 Blaze Pizza stores. His stake in Blaze Pizza and the restaurants are worth a total of $35 million.
Maximizing LeBron James Net Worth Both On And Off Court
How does LeBron James net worth stack up against other great basketball players like Shaquille O’Neal and Michael Jordan? The Shaq’s net worth is around $400 million. Michael Jordan’s net worth is something altogether special. Let me give you a hint. Look down at your shoes. How many are you wearing? Unless you are an octopus, the answer is two. Now, think about those two shoes as making billions. If you are wearing Nike Jordan’s, then you are one of the reasons why Michael is almost always smiling.
LeBron James earns endorsement money from Nike. He still has a long way to go to catch up with Michael Jordan; however, he is on the way to get there.
The Highest Net Worth Athlete NBA Team
What if we made up a fantasy team of all-star NBA players from the richest athletes net worth category including Jordan one of the richest athletes of all time. Where would LeBron James net worth be on the top-ten-highest net worth list for MBA players?
The NBA does not shy away from promoting its athletes into superstars. The best NBA Players get wonderful contracts; however, they earn even larger sums from endorsements.
Insanely Simple Money Management
Here are the NBA’s top ten players with the highest net worth in 2023:
10. David Robinson - $200 million
9. Grant Hill - $250 million
8. Hakeem Olajuwon - $300 million
7. Vinnie Johnson - $400 million
6. James Harden - $400 million
5. Shaquille O'Neal - $400 million
4. Junior Bridgeman - $600 million
3. Earvin “Magic” Johnson - $600 million
2. LeBron James - $1.2 billion
1. Michael Jordan - $1.7 billion
LeBron James net worth has a way to go to catch up with Michael Jordan’s net worth of $1.7 billion. In 2014, Michael Jordan officially became a billionaire. His net worth increased even further since then after he became the 90% owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
LeBron James net worth is building up steadily, but he is currently getting only $20 million up to $32 million for his Nike shoe line each year.
Conclusion
Do you think LeBron James will ever be able to catch up with the net worth of Michael Jordan?
The good news for LeBron James is that in 2015 he signed a lifetime deal with Nike that is worth over a billion dollars. It was the largest deal in Nike’s history. All he needs to do is wait patiently to collect that money, and he will eventually become a billionaire too.
Basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1891 as a game that could be played indoors during the winter months when it was too cold to play sports outside. They nailed up peach baskets, ten-feet high, on the opposing walls of the gymnasium. Someone had to climb up a ladder to retrieve the ball when a shot went into the basket until somebody figured out it would be easier to cut a hole in the bottom.
From that humble beginning, who would have been able to imagine that someday the game would create a billionaire?