LeBron James’ lifetime earnings could be an astonishing $245,000,000 less than Kylian Mbappe’s rumored single season payout in Saudi Arabia
LeBron James is the only active player to cross the billion dollar net worth threshold. However, his total career earnings in the NBA might fall shy of the gargantuan offer Saudi Arabian soccer club Al Hilal has offered Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe.
The world of international soccer is unlike North American sports, and the money given to the best athletes is often leaps and bounds more than the highest earning NBA player. The best example is James, consistently mentioned in GOAT debates and the highest-paid NBA player next season. Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, is a 23-year-old soccer phenom from France.
James' total career earnings of 20 years sum up to $434,986,578 as of last season. That massive number is still less than what Mbappe is set to make next year if the Frenchman agrees to join Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal.
Al Hilal has offered PSG a monumental $1.1 billion for Mbappe's services. That includes a record transfer fee of $332 million and an annual salary of $776 million, about $245 million more than James' 20-year on-court earnings.
That completely overshadows LeBron James' entire career earnings from the last 20 years.
LeBron James is set to earn $53,369,986 next season and will be the highest-paid player in the league. He will earn $57,639,585 in the 2024-25 NBA season, still massively short of the top soccer players.
According to Forbes, the three highest-paid athletes are Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, all soccer players. In fact, these three superstars will collectively earn more just next year than the entire payroll of the Golden State Warriors (roughly $300 million).
Ronaldo tops the list of the world’s highest-paid athletes according to Forbes 💰
Check out the complete list: bit.ly/3O01AzQ
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LeBron James and Stephen Curry are fourth and eighth on the list, though. However, James and Curry make the top 10 list because of their massive off-court earnings and endorsement deals.
Kylian Mbappe will make $20 million off the field this year, while James and Curry will make $75 million and $52 million, respectively.
Mbappe's team Paris Saint-Germain has reportedly accepted the $332 million transfer fee from Al Hilal. Now the only question is whether the 23-year-old superstar agrees to play in Saudi Arabia during his prime.
Nike once brought LeBron James and Kylian Mbappe together to discuss their humble beginnings
LeBron James and Kylian Mbappe are both Nike athletes and two of the biggest names in the sports world. They have signature sneakers, some of the highest jersey sales and entire Nike divisions dedicated to them.
In 2018, Nike brought LeBron James and Kylian Mbappe together in Paris. They discussed culture, success at a young age and their humble beginnings. Many rumors had started circulating that James might try to recruit Mbappe to Liverpool FC, but nothing happened on that front.
As per Hypebeast, they were both asked how their lives changed at the age of 18 when they became two of the biggest athletes in the world. James said:
"The biggest change is that everything you do is magnified. That's a very challenging and difficult situation for an 18-year-old. One day you can say and do whatever you want, walk the streets, go to movies and have fun. And then the next day, you're put on this world stage, and now they expect you to be someone that you might not be able to fulfil at that point in time."
"I had kind of prepared myself because I had fallen in love with the game at such a younger age than 18. When I was three, four, five, six, I was having visions of being on the biggest stage."
Kylian Mbappe had a similar response:
"You don't live like everybody else anymore. You have responsibilities. You have to deal with professionalism and are asked to behave as an adult. I've always dreamt about being in that position. And when I reached that level, for me it wasn’t a success yet but the beginning of a story."
Mbappe and James have been in the limelight since they were teenagers. They have seen success at the highest stage and have played in some of the biggest games of the last decade.