NBA’s highest-paid players: Salary, commercial contracts of LeBron James and Stephen Curry
LeBron James is still one of the top players in the NBA even at the age of 38. Some debates even say that he deserves to compete for the title of the best NBA player of all time with Michael. Jordan.
Since the age of 18, LeBron James has been praised by the media as “The Chosen One” thanks to his football skills and superior sports thinking. He is the highest scoring player of all time in the NBA, with 4 championship titles and a series of other impressive personal achievements.
At the age of 38, LeBron James not only maintains his top playing form, but also his ability to make money. During his entire career, the Los Angeles Lakers star has earned a total of more than $1.4 billion. In particular, LeBron James brought in a total of 128 million USD in the 2023/24 season alone, 25% more than the second person.
The highest-paid players in the NBA
LeBron James is not the highest paid player in the NBA, as this title belongs to Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. However, LeBron James is not only a talented player, but also a successful business person. It is known that LeBron James’ total income from business investments brought him an income of 80 million USD this season.
LeBron James is the face of numerous advertising brands, such as AT&T, Beats, Crypto.com, GMC and PepsiCo, while Curry endorses Callaway, CarMax, Rakuten and Subway. Besides, he also owns a huge source of income from his own shoe brand. In 2019, LeBron James signed a lifetime contract with Nike, receiving more than 30 million USD per year.
Class; Player (team); Total income; Wage; Commerce
1 LeBron James (Lakers) 127.6 million 47.6 million 80 million
2 Stephen Curry (Warriors) 101.9 million 51.9 million 50 million
3 Giannis (Bucks) 90.6 million 45.6 million 45 million
4 Kevin Durant (Suns) 88.4 million 46.4 million 42 million
5 Klay Thompson (Warriors) 64.2 million 43.2 million 21 million
6 Damian Lillard (Bucks) 62.6 million 45.6 million 17 million
7 Joel Embiid (76ers) 56.6 million 47.6 million 9 million
8 James Harden (76ers) 55.6 million 35.6 million 20 million
9 Nikola Jokic (Nuggets) 54.6 million 47.6 million 7 million
10 Paul George (Clippers) 54.1 million 45.6 million 8.5 million
Not only that, LeBron James is also the owner of many companies, the largest of which is SpringHill Company, including production company SpringHill Entertainment and media platform Uninterrupted. In 2021, SpringHill sold a minority stake to a consortium led by RedBird Capital Partners that valued the company at $725 million.
Besides, LeBron James also has investments that bring unbelievable profits. In 2011, he spent 6.5 million USD to buy back 2% of the shares of the Liverpool football team. In 2023, the red half of Merseyside is valued at 5.3 billion USD, meaning LeBron James’s investment has increased to 106 million USD at the present time.
Not only LeBron James, other stars like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant all have other sources of income outside of basketball. Curry has a lifetime shoe deal with Under Armour, while Durant is also a lifetime partner with Nike. Curry himself also has his own investments, while Kevin Durant also owns shares in Athletes Unlimited, Gotham FC, League One Volleyball, Philadelphia Union, Premier Lacrosse League, National Cycling League, Major League Pickleball and TMRW Sports.
These are extremely impressive numbers, which not every player can reach in their entire career. Most players in the NBA bring in large incomes in salary, but for having a business mind and good financial management ability, LeBron James is still a typical model for success in the NBA.
