Biography & Early Wealth Journey
On a per-season average basis, this new deal works out to $48.5 million per year, but LeBron will actually earn slightly different amounts in each of the two upcoming seasons:
- For the 2023-2024 season LeBron will earn $46.7 million
- For the 2024-2025 season LeBron will earn $50.4 million
FYI, LeBron earned $44.5 million from the Lakers in the 2022-2023 season.
Primary Income Streams & Multi-Million Contracts
(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Unfortunately none of LeBron's upcoming salaries will actually be enough to make him the highest-paid player in the NBA or the highest-paid player in NBA history in terms of single season salary.
Steph Curry (who earned slightly more than LeBron last season) is going to be the highest-paid player in the league for the next three seasons. He is scheduled to earn the following amounts:
- 2023-2024: $51.9 million
- 2024-2025: $55.7 million
- 2025-2026: $59.6 million
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Real Estate, Luxury Assets & Personal Investments
Those numbers will indeed make Steph the highest-paid NBA player ever in terms of per-season salary for a couple years… but there's a caveat!
In Michael Jordan's final season with the Bulls, 1997-1998, he earned $33.14 million. After adjusting for inflation, earning $33.14 million in 1997/1998 is the same as earning $61.17 million in today's dollars. That will stand as the highest, inflation-adjusted single-season NBA salary until 2026.
What happens in 2026? That's when, barring any injuries, Damian Lillard is scheduled to earn $63,228,828 – in a single season – from the Portland Trail blazers.
On the plus side for LeBron (as if earning $97.1 million wasn't plus side enough), this new extension will solidify at least one earnings record for him. LeBron currently holds the record for highest NBA career earnings. As of the end of the 2022 season his NBA salary earnings total $390 million.
Wealth Trajectory & Future Earnings Projections
By the time this two-year extension is over, his on-court career earnings will be $487 million. If he signs for a third season, earning an additional $50 million, LeBron will be the first NBA player to surpass the half-billion career earnings mark. By the end of a third year with the Lakers, LeBron James' NBA career earnings will top…
$537 million
And by then I bet LeBron will actually be a real-life billionaire. As opposed to a made-up-to-sell-magazines-and-get-pageviews billionaire.