Biography & Career Of LeBron James

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Biography & Career Of LeBron James

LeBron Raymone James Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history.

Early Life

LeBron James was born on December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio. When LeBron was just an infant his mother gave him a miniature hoop and basketball which he played with for hours. Soon, basketball became LeBron's life and when he was old enough to play for his elementary school he excelled immediately on the court. LeBron attended St Vincent-St Mary high school where, as a sophomore, he became the youngest person ever to join the USA Today All USA first team. In his junior year he was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year. It was also around this time that he became known as "King James". James began to appear on the cover of "SLAM" magazine and Sports Illustrated even though he was still in high school. It was clear to everyone that LeBron was destined to be an NBA superstar.

LeBron James was chosen by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft. During his first season, he was the youngest player to ever score 40 points in a single game, as well as the youngest player ever to be voted Rookie of the Year. In addition to playing for the Cavaliers he has also played for United States Olympic basketball team and won bronze and gold medals the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, respectively. In 2012 and 2013, LeBron and The Miami Heat won the NBA championship. He was also voted MVP of both series.

Personal Life & Real Estate

James has three children with his high school sweetheart Savannah Brinson. When they lived in Miami, the James family owned a $9 million mansion overlooking Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove. In November 2015 LeBron bought a 9,350 square-foot mansion in LA's Brentwood neighborhood for $21 million. At the time it was the highest price paid for a home in the neighborhood. In November 2017 LeBron plunked down $23 million for ANOTHER mansion in Brentwood.

Back in Ohio LeBron owns one of the most-expensive homes in the Cleveland area. Located in Bath Township. The home, which LeBron had custom built, is valued at $9.5 million by Ohio tax authorities. It has 20 total rooms in 30,000 square-feet of living space. He bought the property back in 2003 when he was 18 fresh after joining the NBA.

Contracts

As most people know, LeBron skipped college and went straight to the pros as the first pick of the 2003 the NBA draft by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. His first contract paid $18.8 million over 4 years. He signed a three year $60 million extension with the Cavs before the 2007-2008 season that upped his annual salary from $5.8 million to $13 million, $14.4 million and finally $15.8 million for the 2009-2010 season. Heading into the 2011 season, LeBron infamously announced his intention to leave Cleveland for Miami with a televised special called "The Decision". While he would be derided for the seemingly arrogant television special for years, "The Decision" raised roughly $6 million for charity. When LeBron moved to Miami, he took a lower-than-market rate of $110 million over six years. He did this because he (rightly) predicted he could win an NBA Championship in Miami along with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. In his first season with The Heat he actually earned $1.2 million LESS than what he was making in Miami.

After four seasons with The Heat, LeBron returned to Cleveland ahead of the 2014-2015 season. During his years in Cleveland, LeBron purposely chose 1-year contracts to maximize his earnings potential each subsequent season as the NBA salary cap rose.

In 2016, fresh off winning the NBA championship, LeBron signed a three-year $100 million deal with the Cavs. In the first year he made $23 million. In the second year he made $30.963 million, which also made him the highest-paid player in the league for the first time in his career. In the third year of the deal he made a league-leading $33.285 million.

Ahead of the 2018-2019 season, LeBron moved from the Cavs to the Lakers with a four-year $153 million deal that pays an average annual salary of $38 million.

Career Earnings

During his first 10 seasons in the NBA, LeBron James earned just over $126 million in salary alone. During that same time period LeBron earned an estimated $326 million from endorsements. That's $452 million from his first decade as a professional. As of this writing, LeBron has earned slightly over $600 million during his career (before taxes and expenses).

Endorsement Deals

LeBron has endorsement deals with dozens of companies including McDonalds, Microsoft, State Farm, Beats by Dre, Coca-Cola, Dunkin-Donuts, Baskin Robbins, Samsung, Nike and more. In addition to endorsing Beats by Dre, LeBron also owned 1% of the company. He earned royalty payments totaling $1 million during his years a spokesman. When the company sold to Apple for $3 billion, LeBron's cut was $30 million.

Nike Deal

LeBron signed his first Nike endorsement deal at the age of 18. The deal paid $90 million over seven years, $12.8 million per year. He actually was offered $115 million to sign with Reebok.

Today LeBron earns $20 million per year from Nike in the form of salary and royalty payments for his signature shoe line.

In December 2015, LeBron signed a lifetime endorsement deal with Nike that ultimately could be worth more than $1 billion. It is the very first lifetime deal Nike had ever offered and reportedly the largest deal in the company's history.

Net Worth

LeBron James is an American professional basketball player and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $480 million. Every year, LeBron James earns around $40 million in salary from the NBA and roughly $55 million from endorsements. That brings his total annual income to roughly $100 million. Between June 2016 and 2017, LeBron earned $86 million. Between June 2017 and June 2018, LeBron earned $85.5 million. Between June 2018 and June 2019 he earned another roughly $85 million.