Sports
LeBron James signs $97.1 million extension with Lakers making him the highest-earning player in NBA history
The NBA superstar signed a two-year, $97.1 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. He can become a free agent in 2025 when his son Bronny James is drafted
August 17, 2022 7:54pm
Updated: August 18, 2022 6:50am
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported.
With the deal, LeBron will become the highest-paid player in the NBA, with $532 million in guaranteed money. Previously, Kevin Durant held that distinction, with $509 million in contracts.
The four-time NBA champion can choose to become a free agent in 2024 or wait until 2025 to sign his 17-year-old son, Bronny, who is expected to enter the league that season, with the team of his choice.
James has repeatedly expressed his desire to play alongside Bronny, who is entering his final season at Sierra Canyon High School in Los Angeles. The deal also includes a 15 percent discount, meaning LeBron is unlikely to move before the deal expires.
Breaking: LeBron James has agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension – including a player option for the 2024-2025 season, Rich Paul tells @wojespn.
— ESPN (@espn) August 17, 2022
James had been entering final year of deal worth $44.5M. pic.twitter.com/GoWSO7euNJ
The Lakers are coming from a disappointing, injury-plagued season. The team missed the playoffs for the second straight year and head coach Frank Vogel was fired and replaced by Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham. Los Angeles has made the postseason twice since James signed with the team in 2018, suffering a first-round playoff loss in 2021 and winning an NBA title on the bubble because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
LeBron recently became only the second athlete to become a billionaire after fellow NBA player Michael Jordan, according to Forbes magazine. However, James did so as an active player. Jordan, 59, was not valued at $1 billion until 2014, 11 years after retiring from basketball and before becoming the owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
Los Lakers extienden contrato por $97.1 Millones a LeBron James y lo convierte en el jugador con mayores ingresos alcanzados por contrato de equipos, en la historia de la NBA con $532 millones. Pienso que merece cada centavo que ha ganado en su carrera.#FerPlay#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/DxUfX6cjRd
— Fernando Álvarez (@FerAlvarez) August 17, 2022
LeBron’s son, Bronny, is rated the 39th-ranked recruit by ESPN and already has several suitors, including college basketball powerhouses Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina.
"My senior year I'll be playing with my son," LeBron James told The Athletic in February. "Wherever Bronny is, that's where I'll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for a year. It's not about the money at that point.'
James wouldn't be the first professional athlete to play alongside his son. NHL legend Gordie Howe teamed with his sons Mark and Marty with the Houston Aeros in the 1970s. In 1990, former Major League Baseball star Ken Griffey signed with the Seattle Mariners, where his son had already begun his Hall of Fame-worthy career.
