LeBron James tops Forbes list of highest NBA earners in front of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant
With endorsement deals with Nike, Coca-Cola and Beats By Dre, plus revenue from his SpringHill Entertainment and Blaze Pizza company, it’s no wonder LeBron James rules the financial roost among NBA players.
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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is the NBA’s highest-paid player for the fifth consecutive year with $125m in earnings, according to a Forbes list.
Of that figure $74.7m is made off the court.
Golden State Warriors teammates Stephen Curry, $112m, and Kevin Durant, $91.5m, ranked second and third.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, $75.7m, and Houston Rockets guard James Harden, $66.8m), rounding out the top five.
James’s non-salary income includes lucrative endorsement deals with Nike, Coca-Cola and Beats By Dre, plus revenue from his Hollywood production company, SpringHill Entertainment, and his investment in the Blaze Pizza company. Forbes estimated James’s net worth at $634m.
The NBA’s top 10 earners will make an estimated $761m in 2019 from salaries, endorsements, appearances, royalties and media deals. That is an increase of more than $253.6m from the top 10 earners just five years ago, according to Forbes.
It shows shows NBA players are increasingly looking to build their personal brands and companies to make even more money.
James, Curry and Durant were all reported to make more off the court than through their NBA salaries.
Houston’s Chris Paul ranks sixth, with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard or Portland, Detroit’s Blake Griffin and Paul George of Oklahoma City also making the top 10.