LeBron James with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after James passed Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer Tuesday. 1 pick in 2003 by the Cleveland Cavaliers, has trekked toward the scoring record during his two-decade career by averaging about 27 points per game. James, a native of Akron, Ohio, who was selected out of high school as the NBA’s No. 4 in all-time NBA assists late last month when he eclipsed Steve Nash with his 10,336th assist. James, 38, widely considered a pass-first player, moved up to No. Johnson is currently a minority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, among other investments, and O’Neal is a minority owner of Papa John’s pizza chain, among others.Abdul-Jabbar surpassed NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain as the top scorer on Apmore than eight months before James was born.Ībdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in a two-decade NBA career before he retired in 1989. Johnson and O’Neal have had similar success throughout their post-basketball careers. He made news in 1985 for purchasing a stake in Philadelphia’s Coca-Cola bottling franchise, which netted him millions. Erving signed one of the largest-ever shoe deals with Converse, ushering in the wave of player-sponsored shoes that continues today. In the 1970s, Erving became one of the first NBA stars well-known for his ability to profit outside the game, according to ESPN. The two legends are the highest-earning members of a generations-spanning legacy of NBA superstars who have turned basketball stardom into business success off the court, including the likes of Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, and Shaquille O’Neal. James joins Michael Jordan as the only other NBA player who has a net worth of more than $1 billion, though it took Jordan more than a decade after he retired to achieve the feat, according to Forbes. Hip hip hooray! Oh, my God, I’m gonna be excited,” James said at the time. And if I happen to get it, if I happen to be a billion-dollar athlete, ho. In a 2014 cover story for GQ, James described his journey toward becoming a billionaire as his “biggest milestone.” The 18-time All-Star has been open about his business goals outside of basketball throughout his career. In 2015, Nike announced it had extended James’ contract into a lifetime agreement worth tens of millions of dollars annually. In 2003, James was 18 when he signed a shoe deal with Nike, choosing the company over lucrative offers from Reebok and Adidas. He’s also racked in profits from his share of holdings in pizza chain Blaze Pizza, ride-hailing company Lyft, and smart-fitness startup Tonal.Īnother large portion of James’ income comes through endorsement deals, including with well-known brands like AT&T, PepsiCo, Walmart recently, he appeared in a Super Bowl ad for. James is also a part owner of Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, and Liverpool F.C., among others. His production company SpringHill Co., which Forbes estimates to be worth around $300 million, produced the 2021 hit movie Space Jam: A New Legacy, which starred James and earned roughly $163 million at the box office. Off the court, the four-time NBA champion has earned more than $900 million from endorsements and savvy business ventures, as well as through his ownership of several multimillion-dollar estates in Ohio and Los Angeles, according to Forbes.Ībout half of James’ net worth comes from his stakes in real estate properties and business ventures. So where did the bulk of James’ earnings come from during his career? Remarkably, only once in his career has the perennial MVP candidate had the highest NBA salary, according to a Fortune analysis of ESPN’s NBA salary tracker. Throughout his 19-year NBA career, the 37-year-old superstar received more than $385 million in pre-tax salary from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers. And while the debate over where James stands on the list of greatest basketball players of all time remains a polarizing topic for fans, one thing became undeniably true this week: James has reached billionaire status, something no other active NBA player has ever done.Īfter taking home roughly $121.2 million in earnings in 2021, James has officially entered the billionaires list with a net worth estimated at $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.
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