China-Pandering LeBron James Becomes NBA’s First $1 Billion Player

[mystery-ak]

China-Pandering LeBron James Becomes NBA’s First $1 Billion Player

Warner Todd Huston 22 Jul 2021

Lakers star LeBron James appears to be cashing in as the NBA’s first active billion-dollar player as his deals in China, Hollywood, as well as his lucrative investments and sponsorships in Nike and other brands grow.

Since he was first drafted into the NBA in 2003, James has already raked in more than $330 million just in playing salary. But he has also reaped more than $700 million in off-court deals, according to Yahoo Entertainment. And with his deals, companies, and investments, that $700 million number can only grow.

James, 36, is one of the NBA’s highest-paid players this season. He is topped by James Harden, John Wall, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Stephen Curry, but because of equal earnings for some of those players, James is still the fourth highest-paid player in the league.

But most of James’ billion-dollar income is from endorsements and investments outside the NBA.

His most lucrative deal is with sportswear giant Nike, a deal worth over a billion in and of itself. James signed a seven-year, $90 million deal with Nike in 2003, and by 2016 he signed on with a “lifetime” contract worth north of $30 million a year. This puts him at the billion-dollar mark all by itself over time.

Nike, of course, is heavily invested in the Chinese market and is said to have raked in upwards of $6 billion in China in just the last year. And as it happens, James is one of Nike’s biggest-selling names in the Chinese market.

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https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2021/07/22/china-pandering-lebron-james-becomes-nbas-first-1-billion-player/

[corbe]

   Even Yao Ming (@China) had his number, back then.

[goatprairie]

Yes, what a horrible, racist country. James is forced to subsist on a mere billion dollars he's made from bouncing a basketball. It's an outrage.
I remember back in the sixties when Jerry Lucas, then one of the top power forwards in league, had a goal of making a million dollars. Not in one season but just over his career.
He eventually succeeded through his off court activities after his basketball days ended. Lucas was considerably smarter than James, and wrote about seventy books mainly relating to memory and education. Lucas knew the stats not just of his own, but also of every player on both teams during his games as the games were being played.
One of his books on memory became a bestseller.
Meanwhile, LeBron is having a tough time making ends meet on his meager earnings.