Basketball superstar LeBron James becomes the highest-paid professional in NBA history.
His advisor Rich Paul confirmed a new deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, the sports broadcaster ESPN had previously reported about it. James’ new deal will bring him $97.1 million (€95.5 million) over two more years. He is expected to pocket $46.7 million this season.
The 37-year-old could play in California until the end of the 2024/2025 season. However, James has the option to exit the contract early in 2024. Actually, James’ contract would have expired after the coming season.
The four-time NBA champion will become the highest-earning player in the history of the world’s top basketball league with a salary of $532 million if he plays three more seasons.
The 2.06 meter tall James has been playing with the Lakers since 2018. In 2020 he had won the championship with the team, but recently experienced disappointing months. Los Angeles, 17-time champion, missed the playoffs last season. Injuries had often slowed James down, he only made 56 appearances. If he stays injury-free next season, he could surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) as the most-scoring player in NBA history. (dpa)
