Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- LeBron James accepted a historic pay cut to join a new franchise this offseason.
- The move was driven by a unique relationship with an existing All-Star on the 76ers roster.
- LeBron's contract structure leaves multiple questions about his future beyond this season.
On Monday, LeBron James officially became the newest member of the Philadelphia 76ers.
James signed a two-year, $7.9 million veteran-minimum contract with a second-year player option. Hilariously, the deal includes a 15 percent trade kicker, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, which would bump his salary up to roughly $4.5 million if the Sixers traded him this year. (Fun thought experiment: How much could they get back in that trade?)
This past season, James earned $52.6 million with the Los Angeles Lakers. His starting salary this year could have gone as high as $57.7 million, but none of the teams he considered signing with had anywhere near enough cap space to offer him that amount. The Golden State Warriors might have been able to give him the $15.0 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception with some finagling, but either way, LeBron was headed for a massive pay cut this offseason.
In fact, it wound up being the biggest one in NBA history, according to Frank Urbina of HoopsHype.
Player | Previous Salary | New Salary | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
LeBron James | $52,627,153 | $3,876,529 | $48,750,624 |
Russell Westbrook | $47,063,478 | $3,835,738 | $43,237,740 |
Blake Griffin | $36,810,996 | $1,669,178 | $35,141,818 |
Khris Middleton | $35,086,419 | $5,591,122 | $29,495,297 |
Klay Thompson | $43,219,440 | $15,873,016 | $27,346,424 |
Why didn't the Sixers offer LeBron more? They couldn't.
The Sixers are hard-capped at the $209 million first apron after splitting their non-taxpayer MLE between Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons, and they were only $3.4 million below the first apron before signing James. They had to waive Dalen Terry, whose contract was fully non-guaranteed until Jan. 10, just to make enough room under the hard cap to sign LeBron.
Had the Sixers not spent part of their $5.5 million bi-annual exception on Ariel Hukporti, they could have offered James that full amount, provided they had enough space under the first apron to fit him. However, they signed Hukporti early in free agency, which left them with only a minimum contract to offer LeBron.
So, why did LeBron choose the Sixers instead of a reunion with the Cleveland Cavaliers or Miami Heat, especially at that price point? It sounds like Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey was a driving factor.
"... When you add a LeBron, everything changes," LeBron's agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, said on the Game Over podcast. "That is why it is not easy for someone who is [deemed] to be a star player on a team, when he comes, he kind of shows you how big or little of a star you actually are. It takes a special kind of person to mentally embrace that.
"The familiarity with him and Tyrese, you don't have to worry about that with Tyrese. They know each other, they embrace each other, they have been working out together for the last five years. So you won't have any pushback. You can't pay for that. You can't put a value on that."
As it turns out, you can put a value on that. It's roughly $48.75 million, which is the difference between LeBron's salary last year and his salary in 2026-27.
What about next year?
If LeBron decides to play beyond this season and extend his career to an NBA-record 25 years, he has a $4.1 million player option that he'll have to decide on by June 29, 2027.
If he declines it, the Sixers could re-sign him with non-Bird rights, which would allow them to give him a new deal starting at 120 percent of what he earns in 2026-27 (roughly $4.65 million). They could also re-sign him with whichever mid-level exception they have.
LeBron said this was his "last decision," which implies he will not re-enter free agency next summer looking for another new home. If he decides to come back for the 2027-28 campaign, it figures to be with the Sixers. Either way, he isn't likely to receive a hefty raise.
Granted, LeBron's real-time net worth is estimated to be roughly $1.4 billion, according to Forbes. A few million extra dollars is more or less a rounding error to him.
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