Home Sport LeBron James inks huge two-year, $97.1m extension with the Lakers to become the highest earner in NBA history at $532m – and he can become a free agent in 2025 when his son Bronny is drafted

LeBron James inks huge two-year, $97.1m extension with the Lakers to become the highest earner in NBA history at $532m – and he can become a free agent in 2025 when his son Bronny is drafted

Sport — 05/10/2024

Numerous sources state that LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have reached an agreement to extend their deal by two years for $97.1 million.

With $532 million in guaranteed income, the deal makes James the highest-paid player in NBA history and includes a player option for the 2024–2025 campaign. That title was previously held by Kevin Durant, who had guaranteed contracts worth $509 million.

The four-time NBA champion has the option to sign with the team that drafts his 17-year-old son Bronny in 2025, when he becomes a free agent in 2024. Bronny is anticipated to join the league that season. James, who is about to start his senior year at Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles, has frequently stated that he would like to play with Bronny.

LeBron James, 37, won the most recent of his four NBA titles with the Lakers in 2020
In addition, there is a 15% trade kicker in the contract, therefore it is doubtful that James will be traded before it ends. In addition, as per NBA regulations, he isn’t truly eligible to be traded for the upcoming season because the second season of his new contract involves a rise of more than five percent.

After DailyMail.com requested confirmation of the specifics of the deal, representatives for the Lakers did not reply right away.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the initial news of the extension. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the agreement may be worth up to $111 million over the course of two years, depending on how the NBA salary cap changes.
In addition to controlling his immediate future with All-Star teammate Antonio Davis, he will now earn $46.7 million for the upcoming season. Each player has the choice to sign a free agent contract in 2024 or 2025.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension, according to multiple reports
After a poor and injury-plagued season in which the Lakers missed the playoffs for the second straight year and head coach Frank Vogel was ousted in favor of Milwaukee assistant coach Darvin Ham, the squad is coming off a disappointing season.

Since James joined the team in 2018, Los Angeles has made it to the postseason twice; in the first round of the playoffs in 2021, they lost, and in the COVID bubble of the league in 2020, they won an NBA title.

LeBron 'Bronny' James Jr. #0 of Sierra Canyon High School with his father LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers following the Ohio Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic against St. Vincent-St. Mary High School at Nationwide Arena on December 14, 2019
James performed admirably last season, scoring over 30 points per game for just the third time in his career and shooting a career-best 2.9 3-point field goals each night, despite the team’s struggles with injuries, including his own.

According to Forbes, James recently became the second athlete—after fellow NBA star Michael Jordan—to become a billionaire, even though he did it while still competing. It wasn’t until 2014, 11 years after he had given up on basketball and before he became the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, that Jordan, now 59, was valued at $1 billion.

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers watches son Bronny play with Sierra Canyon High School during the Ohio Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic against St. Vincent-St. Mary High School at Nationwide Arena on December 14, 2019 in Columbus
Regarding Bronny’s near future, he has one more high school basketball season left, and it is anticipated that he will play college hoops for at least a year, making him eligible for the NBA Draft in 2025.