Lebron James Net Worth: Is He Richer Than Cristiano Ronaldo?
Akron, Ohio, is the birthplace of LeBron James, who was born on December 30th, 1984. LeBron enjoyed hours of playtime with a bit of basketball hoop and ball that his mother gave him even as a baby. With his first experience on a school team at 11, basketball quickly became LeBron’s life.
As a student at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, LeBron received the school’s youngest-ever selection to the USA Today All-USA First Team. He graduated from high school with honors. In his junior year, he was voted the Gatorade National Player of the Year. Around this period, he was also given the nickname “King James.”
Even though he was still in high school, James appeared on the covers of “SLAM” and Sports Illustrated. Everyone knew that LeBron James would be a superstar in the Cleveland Cavaliers chose LeBron James as the NBA’s first overall choice in 2003. This year he became the youngest player to score 40 points in a game and the youngest to be named Rookie Of The Year.
In addition to his time with the Cavs, he has also represented the United States of America at the Olympic Games twice, taking home bronze and gold, respectively. LeBron and the Miami Heat won NBA championships in 2012 and 2013. In both series, he was chosen MVP.
Annual Income
The NBA pays LeBron James $40 million a year in salary, and he earns an additional $55 million a year in endorsements. He now earns almost $100 million a year altogether. LeBron James made 86 million dollars between June 2016 and May 2017.
LeBron made $85.5 million from June 2017 to June 2018. From June 2018 to June 2019, he made an additional $85 million in earnings.
Career Earnings
LeBron James made approximately $126 million in salary throughout his first ten seasons in the NBA. In addition, the endorsements LeBron received at that time were valued at $326 million. That’s a total of $452 million during his first ten years in the business.
The Lakers re-signed LeBron James to a two-year, $85 million deal extension. When LeBron’s current deal expires in 2023, he will have made $428 million in NBA wages.
LeBron has made over $700 million through endorsement deals and other sources (before taxes and expenses).
Endorsement Deals
In addition to McDonald’s, Microsoft, State Farm, Beats by Dr. Dre, and Coca-Cola, LeBron has endorsement relationships with Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin-Robbins, Samsung, and Nike. Beats by Dre’s endorsement deal with LeBron was not the only thing that made him a shareholder in the firm.
As a spokesperson, he received royalty payments totaling $1 million. In addition, LeBron received $30 million when the firm was sold to Apple for $3 billion.
Contracts
As most people know, LeBron opted out of college and was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first overall choice in the 2003 NBA draught. When he signed his first deal, he was promised a salary of $18.8 million a year for four years. However, before the 2007-2008 season, he signed a three-year $60 million contract deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers that increased his compensation from $5.8 million to $13 million, $14.4 million, and ultimately $15.8 million for the 2009-2010 season.
“The Decision” was LeBron’s televised announcement before the 2011 season that he was leaving Cleveland for Miami. Although “The Decision” was ridiculed for its pompous telecast for years, it collected around $6 million for charitable causes.
LeBron signed a six-year, $110 million contract below market value when he arrived in Miami. He did this because he correctly prophesied that he and Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade would win an NBA Championship together in Miami. He made $1.2 million less in his first season with the Heat than in Miami.
LeBron returns to Cleveland before the 2014-2015 season after four seasons with the Miami Heat. When the NBA wage cap increased during LeBron’s time in Cleveland, he purposefully signed one-year contracts to keep his earnings as high as possible.
In 2016, LeBron signed a three-year, $100 million contract with the Cavaliers after winning the NBA title. He made $23 million in his first year. In his second season, he earned $30.963 million, becoming the league’s highest-paid player for the first time in his career. He earned $33.285 million in the third year of his contract, which was the most.
Before the 2018-2019 season began, LeBron James signed a four-year, $153 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, a deal worth $38 million each year.
A two-year $85 million deal agreement for LeBron and the Lakers was revealed in November 2020. That boils up to a base NBA salary of $42.5 million per year.
Will LeBron James Be A Billionaire?
I’ll get to it in a sec, but first, some background. To become a billionaire, LeBron must first become a member of the exclusive club of billion-dollar athletes. Michael Schumacher, Floyd Mayweather, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods, and Michael Jordan are all members of this exclusive club, worth $1.9 billion.
LeBron’s four years in Los Angeles will net him an estimated $100 million per year in salary and sponsorships. Possibly closer to $110 million or $120 million, depending on the final figure. He will reach the $1 billion thresholds in career earnings by year four of his deal, even at the $100 million level.
So long as he stays in the NBA, he’ll make around $350 million in compensation by the time he retires, assuming he signs one more three-year contract. As a result, LeBron James is expected to cash in on over $1.1 billion in his career earnings by retiring in 2025. In 2035, when LeBron is 51 years old, if he follows in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Kobe Bryant, his net worth will be over $1 billion.
Personal Life and Real Estate
Savannah Brinson, James’ high school girlfriend, is the mother of his three children.
The James family had owned a $9 million property in Coconut Grove on Biscayne Bay while they lived in Miami, Florida.
LeBron James paid $21 million for a 9,350-square-foot house in Brentwood, Los Angeles, in November 2015. To that point, the highest sum ever paid for a home in the area. This house had been on the market for almost 12 months when he finally decided to sell it for $19.6 million in September 2021.
LeBron James spent $23 million on a new Brentwood house in November 2017. Additionally, LeBron James purchased a home for $36.8 million in Beverly Hills in September 2020.
When LeBron returns to Ohio, he owns one of the area’s most costly residences. Bath Township is the location. According to Ohio tax authorities, LeBron’s custom-built mansion is valued at $9.5 million. You’ll find 20 bedrooms and 30,000 square feet to spread yourself in. He purchased the property in 2003 when he was just 18 years old and had just joined the NBA.
SpringHill Entertainment
Maverick Carter and LeBron James are the co-founders of SpringHill Entertainment, a production firm. The business has worked on various projects, including feature films, documentaries, and television series.
Blaze Pizza
To celebrate his basketball career, LeBron James invested in a pizza company named Blaze Pizza in 2012. He was employed for McDonald’s at the time. For Blaze Pizza, LeBron rejected a $15 million contract extension from McDonald’s in 2017.
Currently, he owns at least 21 Blaze pizza franchises, and the firm is one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains ever. At the company’s most recent value, LeBron’s stock holding is worth $40 million.
Liverpool F.C.
Even though LeBron wants to own an NBA franchise eventually, he’ll have to settle for holding a soccer team in the meanwhile. Fenway Sports Group, the team’s principal owners, sold LeBron a 2 percent share in the club in 2011. (owners of the Red Sox).
With time, Liverpool has won the Champions League and become $2 billion worth of business. At least $40 million is at risk for LeBron James in this deal.
Is LeBron James richer than Cristiano Ronaldo?
Ronaldo’s net worth is estimated to be $500 million by Celebrity Net Worth. According to Forbes, LeBron James is worth an estimated $850 million.
For the past 18 years, LeBron James has been a member of the NBA. He has made $387,384,119 through NBA contracts and salaries, making him one of the highest-paid NBA legends.
In addition to his numerous sponsorships and investments, the four-time NBA champion has made over $1 billion in his career as an active player.
His commercial initiatives, ranging from SpringHill Company (worth $300 million) to Blaze Pizza (worth $30 million), have been a significant turning point. Forbes magazine predicts that James will be a billionaire by the year 2024. He is currently 36 years old, and he may or may not still be playing by that time. Only Michael Jordan has become a billionaire in the NBA, and he is the only other NBA legend.
The Lakers great also had $100 million in real estate. He is said to own at least four properties, two of which are located in Los Angeles. In addition, he has a Beverly Hills mansion worth around $36.75 million. Ladder, a health and wellness firm co-founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger, was also established by the LA Lakers legend in 2018.
While Cristiano Ronaldo has earned $1 billion in his career, he is the first current team-sports star to achieve so. According to rumors, he has a basic salary of more than $60 million. However, he earns $40 million years from endorsements instead of a paycheck.
He also makes a lot of money by selling his own branded products, including everything from clothing to hotels. CR7 also owns other properties, including an apartment in New York City and a seven-story home in Los Angeles.
It is located in Madeira, where he was born and raised.
James has a stake in Fenway Sports Group, worth $70 million; thus, his interest in football (soccer) is also considered. In addition, the same firm owns Liverpool FC, Boston Red Sox, Roush Fenway Racing, and the New England Sports Network. In all, the company has a 10% ownership in him.
A lifetime worth of Nike
Both players use Nike as their go-to athletic gear provider. Nike signed a $1 billion contract with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016. The contract also included a $100 million signing bonus. Conversely, James’ Nike contract was finalized in 2015. By the time he reaches the age of 64, he stands to gain $1 billion from the deal. At 18, he signed his first long-term contract with them only in 2015.
While James has overtaken Ronaldo in terms of fortune, the two are not that far apart.
