Lakers: Brian Windhorst Retells LeBron James' Rant About Being 'underpaid'
After signing his extension with the Lakers, LeBron James set the record for most guaranteed money a NBA player has made in league history. James is set to push his career NBA contract earnings to approximately $532M when it's all said and done. That of course doesn't even include his $50.4M player option for the 2024-205 season.
LeBron, the first active athlete to ever become a billionaire, has amassed incredible wealth, but there was a time when James wasn't making the max, and it didn't sit to well with him, despite the fact that he voluntarily accepted less money to team up with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade on the Miami Heat.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst, who has chronicled James throughout his career, recalled an interesting interaction with LeBron during his time with the Miami Heat in regards to his compensation (quotes via Bleacher Report's Scott Polacek).
"I brought up to him that he had never actually been the highest-paid player on his team, he was tied as the highest-paid player with Chris Bosh, but he wasn't the highest-paid player.His head snapped around, and he goes, 'that's an untold story,' and he kind of went off on a rant about being underpaid, which he was. He was underpaid."
James made about $64M in his four years with Miami, money that most people can only dream of, but LeBron is not most people. The NBA salary cap has gone up significantly since his four-year run in Miami, but for greater context, James has made north of $153M in his first four years with the Lakers.
It's hard to imagine LeBron being "underpaid", but relative to what some of the top players were making at the time, coupled with Windhorst's expert opinion, it's not an absolute stretch to make the argument.
LeBron certainly did.
