LeBron James' massive contract extension by the numbers

It goes without saying that LeBron James is one of the wealthiest and most successful athletes of all time. As a matter of fact, he’s made even more money off the court than he’s made as an NBA player.

Now, however, the greatest player of his generation is poised to earn even more money on the hardwood, as he just signed a massive contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers that will have him under contract through 2023.

But what does that mean? How much money is LeBron James going to make per year? Is that going to hurt the Los Angeles Lakers’ chances to sign any more players? Let’s break it down right now.

LeBron James’ Contract Extension: How Much Will The Lakers Pay LeBron?

LeBron James and his agent Rich Paul announced that they agreed to a 2-year contract extension that will have him under contract through 2023. That max extension is worth a grand total of $85 million.

Also, as Bobby Marks reported, Lakers will make $41,180,544 (instead of the former $41,002,274) in 2021/22 and then$44,474,988 in2022/23. On top of that, he can recieve a 105% increase off his 2020/21 salary of $39.2 million and is not restricted by the 35% max rule for next year’s salary cap due to the length of his deal.

How Much Money Has LeBron Made In The NBA?

Before signing that massive extension, LeBron James has made$310,111,480 since entering the league in 2003. Now, should he retire when his deal runs through in 2023, he would have amassed almost $400 million, which would make him the highest earner in NBA history.

Will LeBron’s Contract Hurt The Lakers?

It’s unlikely that LeBron James’ contract will harmthe Los Angeles Lakers’ plans to add more stars in the future. They’re likely going to sign Anthony Davis to a 2 or 3-year deal, and other than LeBron, they only have two players under contract through 2022/23 (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alonzo McKinnie).

That means that the Lakers will still have plenty of cap space to make a run at top-tier players and keep their title contention hopes alive, and we’ve already seen plenty of players take a pay cut to join forces with The King.