Listing the 3 biggest contracts LeBron James has signed in his NBA career
Arguably the greatest of all time, LeBron James has been dominating the NBA since 2003. This is his 19th year in the league, and while he has had a couple of injuries sidelining him for some time, when LeBron is on the court, he proves to the rest of the league that he is still one of the best players, if not the best to play the game right now.
King James is also known for his philanthropic work off the court with the LeBron James Family Foundation which builds schools in Akron, Ohio. All this comes with the incredible wealth that James has generated from playing in the NBA and from endorsements with Nike, Blaze Pizza, etc.
LeBron has earned over $400 million just from his NBA contracts, making him one of the highest-earning individuals in the history of the league. Having been drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2003, James has gone on to play for the Miami Heat and currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. With that said, here we look at the three biggest contracts of LeBron James' career.
#3 Four-year, $60.4 million - Cleveland Cavaliers, 2007
LeBron James signed a rookie-scale extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2007 worth $60.4 million on a four-year deal. This was after LeBron was being paid less than $5 million during his first three years in the league while making $5,828,090 in his fourth year playing for the Cavaliers. After signing the extension in 2007, King James made $13,041,250 during the first year.
Year two of that extension, LeBron James won the MVP after averaging 28.4 points, 7.2 assists and 7.6 rebounds while shooting nearly 49% from the field. He started 81 games during the regular season and led the Cavs to a 66-15 record with seven triple-doubles to his name. However, the season ended in disappointment after an Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Orlando Magic.
#2 Six-year, $110.1 million - Miami Heat, 2010
LeBron James signed a six-year $110.1 million contract with the Miami Heat back in 2010, with James being teamed up with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. The Heat signed the deal after agreeing to a sign-and-trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who in return got two future first-round and two second-round picks. All three superstars had to take a pay cut to be on the same team.
The three superstars were together for four years, reaching the NBA Finals on all four occasions and winning the championship on two - 2011/12 and 2012/13. Since Bosh and James' deals were done through sign-and-trade, both of them were eligible for 10.5% raises every year. LeBron averaged 26.9 points, 6.7 assists and 7.6 rebounds on better than 54% shooting from the field for the Miami Heat. He also won two Finals MVP awards during his four-year stay in Miami.
#1 Four-year, $154 million - Los Angeles Lakers, 2018
LeBron James decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time after declining his $35.6 million player option in 2018 and pronounced that his destination as a free agent would be the Los Angeles Lakers. He signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $154 million contract. The fourth year of the deal would be a player option.
LeBron signed a two-year contract extension in December 2020, which would see him being a Laker until the end of the 2022-23 season. He will have played 20 seasons in the NBA by then and his career earnings would be over $430 million. King James brought a championship to La La Land in 2020 and thereby won his fourth ring and the fourth Finals MVP of his career.
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