Cavaliers star player Lebron James has been a huge center of attention throughout the championship games. James, who is considered to be one of the best basketball players in National Basketball Association history, has been in the spotlight throughout the 7-game series. How will the latest win for the Cavs affect Lebron’s net worth?
Currently, James’ net worth sits at a pretty $223 million. His net worth is made up of a combination of basketball contracts, endorsements, property and investments. What is surprising about Lebron’s net worth is how quickly it grew. In 2004, Lebron James’ net worth was only $13 million. Within 12 years, his net worth grew $110 million.
In 2003, Lebron was only making about $4 million a year salary from the NBA. Now the basktball star makes approximately $20 million each year. This does not even take into account the $22 million (on average) that the athlete makes from endorsements and his annual investment income which falls between $800,000 and $8 million each year.
Lebron has had a few moments where his net worth wasn’t as high as it could be. Between 2008 and 2009 he saw a bit of a bump in the road (when the rest of the country was experiencing the same thing). However, in 2014, Beats (a company Lebron endorses) sold to Apple. It is estimated that the deal with Apple tacked on an additional $30 million to the NBA player’s net worth.
The biggest part of Lebron’s net worth, without a doubt, are the endorsements he performs for companies like Sprite and Beats. His signed endorsement deals add up to $267 million in total. After his endorsement contracts have been accounted for, he has signed $150 million worth of basketball contracts and his investments are estimated to be worth about $39 million.
You may be thinking, “that adds up to more than $223 million.” It does. If it weren’t for taxes, Lebron James’ net worth would be about $456 million. Everyone has to pay taxes though so Lebron’s net worth sits at about half that. The basketball player also has to pay things like agent fees and other staff-related fees that many other people do not have to pay.
The 31-year-old NBA star has no clear plans of retiring either so future NBA contracts will continue to add to his huge net worth of $223 million. He also recently signed a contract with Nike that is estimated to grow his net worth approximately $90 million. Additionally, the Cavaliers won the NBA Finals which means Lebron (and his teammates) will bring home a few extra million dollars for the win. James will likely sign multiple other endorsements as a result of the win for Cleveland as well. However, for now, he will be taking a short period of time off to celebrate his team’s win.
How much money do you think basketball players should make?
Photo: Flickr: Keith Allison
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