Professional athletes earn millions of dollars through their contracts with their respective teams. Be it players from the NFL, MLB, or the NBA. And many of them easily break the 100 million threshold by the time their career is over. While players who don’t manage to earn that much end up making big bucks through endorsements and such. This brings us to LeBron James, who has only been the highest-paid player in the league once over his 20-year-long illustrious career.

As opposed to popular belief, it is not always the best players on the team who get paid the highest salary. Russell Westbrook was being paid more than $45 million to come off the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers.

LeBron James was the highest-paid player only once

According to a recent report by ‘Sportico,’ LeBron James has only been the highest-paid player once during his career. It was during his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers when he brought an NBA championship to ‘The Land.’ 

James earned a salary of $31 million in the 2016-17 season. While the contract had been signed years prior, the timing of his championship couldn’t have been better. The King was the highest-paid player in the league in the season following the Cavs’ historic championship.

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Unfortunately, that was the only time when James was at the top of the salary mountain. Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was the highest-paid player for six years straight, right from 2010 to 2016, his final year in the league.

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Even Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has earned the highest salary more times than James. Since LeBron’s highest-paid year, Curry has been leading the board with the most salary for six years straight.

Stephen Curry still overshadowing The King

LeBron James signed a $97.1 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers through to the 2024-25 NBA season. Yet he still won’t be the highest-paid player in the league. Even after a $1 billion net worth, James earns about $100 million from endorsements annually.

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Yet Stephen Curry has managed to surpass him once again. Curry became the first player to sign a ‘supermax’ contract under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement. His latest extension, signed in 2021, is for four years and will help him earn $215 million.

The Warriors star is expected to rake in almost $60 million during the final year of his current contract. What are your thoughts on LeBron being left behind in terms of salary? Let us know in the comments.