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As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

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As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

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MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

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Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
LeBron James

Lebron James Has Made $234 Million Over His Career—And Is Closing in on A Lot More

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
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By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
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July 2, 2018, 1:32 PM ET
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NBA star Lebron James is leaving Cleveland for the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year, $154 million contract. But he’s been raking in the cash for years—an estimated $234 million in his 15 seasons in the NBA, according to Spotrac.

Now, with his latest deal, James stands to make significantly more. By the end of the 2021-2022 season, he’ll have earned $387.2 million over his career, said Spotrac, which tracks athlete salaries.

And note that those numbers are just his NBA contracts and don’t include his endorsements, which generate millions more for the NBA’s most popular athlete.

Of course, James has paid a small amount of money back in fines for minor infractions like technical fouls. Since 2014, he’s forked over $62,000 in penalties, but he can easily afforded it.

Spotrac says that James has never earned a signing bonus or had an incentive bonus in his contracts. If so, that would be in contrast to most other athletes, who are paid extra for winning championships or achieving other performance milestones.

Interested in knowing just how much James has made each year of his career? He’s a year-by-year breakdown from Spotrac:

2003-2004 Season

$4,018,290

2004-2005 Season

$4,320,360

2005-2006 Season

$4,621,800

2006-2007 Season

$5,828,090

2007-2008 Season

$13,041,250

2008-2009 Season

$14,410,580

2009-2010 Season

$15,779,912

2010-2011 Season

$14,500,000

2011-2012 Season

$12,896,159

2012-2013 Season

$17,545,000

2013-2014 Season

$19,067,500

2014-2015 Season

$20,644,400

2015-2016 Season

$22,970,500

2016-2017 Season

$30,963,450

2017-2018 Season

$33,285,709

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