Lakers’ LeBron James Nears Staggering Milestone

Four-time NBA champion LeBron James is successful on and off the basketball court and he is about to hit another milestone. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar is on his third tea. His basketball career is pretty impressive, and LeBron has signed some of the best deals in league history. In his 17 seasons in the league, LeBron has earned over $310 million. Oh, this is just a tiny bit of his fortune.

LeBron signed a $93 million endorsement deal with Nike in 2003. He earned a lot of money in his rookie campaign. Things got even better in 2010. LeBron signed a deal that gave him $30 million per year. What happened next? LeBron signed a lifetime deal with the brand and he will earn $1 billion.

Forbes reports that King James will hit $1 billion in career earnings this year. A nice milestone, right? Only four other athletes have earned $1 billion in earnings during their playing days. Golfer Tiger Woods, boxing’s Floyd Mayweather, and soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are on this list.

According to Forbes, LeBron will earn $95.4 million this year. His Lakers contract reaches $39 million, ranking seventh behind the deals of Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, James Harden and Kevin Durant. These guys will earn more than $40 million per year. LeBron, on the other hand, will earn more than $50 million from his endorsement deals.

LeBron James “plays” a safe game on his way to the next milestone

The kid from Akron signed a two-year contract extension worth $85 million. He is really careful with his millions. The king of basketball happens to be a king of finances, too.

“My uncles always taught me — they taught me how to have a savings account,” LeBron said on Uninterrupted. “They’d give me a dollar and they’d be like, ‘Listen, nephew, go spend 35 cents of it and keep the other 65.’ Or, if they gave me two dollars, they’d be like, ‘Go ahead and spend a dollar of it, but stash the other dollar.’ I’m always in my head about stashing and keeping my money sacred … because I didn’t know when my uncle was going to give me another dollar here and another 50 cents here.”

The Lakers superstar is having another MVP season, averaging 25.2 points, 7.5 assists and 7.8 rebounds this season, shooting 49.2% from the field and 41.3%–a career high—from the 3-point line.