Since entering the league nearly two decades ago, LeBron James has built an empire and an estimated net worth of $480 million. He didn’t just do it through NBA contracts either, although those have been nothing to thumb your nose at. As we’ll get into, the superstar has various sources of income outside of the sport, some of them extremely rare and the first of their kind.
LeBron made waves in the summer of 2018 when it was announced that he would be joining the Lakers for a four-year, $154 million deal. That’s $38.5 million every year that he’ll be earning until the 2021/2022 season. When he has been paid all of the money on the contract, he’ll be the player with the highest court earnings in history. His Laker contract was a huge step up from his first playing contract, which was, of course, with the Cleveland Cavaliers and still earned the star a whopping $18.8 million over four years. In total, just from his NBA salary, since 2003, LeBron has made around $300 million.
As we mentioned, there’s far more to James’ worth than salary money. In 2016, Forbes estimated his earnings at $71 million in 2017, $86 million, in 2018 at $85.3 million and in 2019 at $89 million. Each year, endorsements have paid Bron more than his salary has, and when you see the list of names he’s been linked with over his career, it’s no wonder why.