LeBron James' 76ers Salary Compared to Various Sports World Contracts After Staggering Pay Cut

After playing on max contracts for 14 consecutive seasons, LeBron James is set to play on a minimum deal for the first time in his legendary NBA career and one of the lowest-paid stars on a non-rookie deal in all of North American major men's pro sports leagues.

James' agent, Rich Paul, confirmed to ESPN's Shams Charania that the future Hall of Famer will sign a two-year, $8 million contract to join the Philadelphia 76ers.

Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, the deal breaks down to a $3.9 million salary in 2026-27 and $4.1 million in 2027-28.

When the deal becomes official, James will officially be tied with DeAndre Jordan as the 298th-highest-paid player in the NBA for the upcoming season. He will be earning slightly more than Svi Mykhailiuk of the Utah Jazz ($3.85 million) and Kasparas Jakučionis of the Milwaukee Bucks ($3.84 million) in the second year of his rookie contract.

James' $4 million average annual salary is equal to 23 NFL players, including both backup tight ends for the San Francisco 49ers (Jake Tonges, Luke Farrell), Carolina Panthers backup quarterback Kenny Pickett and New York Giants backup quarterback Jameis Winston.

The $8 million in total salary for James over the next two seasons is $10 million less than the average annual salary for MLB players Tanner Scott, Logan Webb, Masataka Yoshida, Kyle Bradish and Yu Darvish.

James became the first active NBA player to reach billionaire status, doing so in 2022, so his financial portfolio is doing just fine even with his salary going from $52.6 million last season with the Los Angeles Lakers to just under $4 million in 2026-27.

Forbes recently released its list of the world's highest-paid athletes for the 12-month period from May 2025 to May 2026. James was fourth with $137.8 million in total earnings.

From that total, James made $85 million in off-field earnings. The only athlete ahead of him in that category is Shohei Ohtani, who made $125 million not counting his salary from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

James' 2026-27 salary will be his lowest as an NBA player. His original rookie contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers paid him $4.02 million in 2003-04.

The 2006-07 campaign was the last time James was paid less than $10 million in a season on his NBA contract. This will also be the first time since 2013-14 that he is making under $20 million in a season.

When James announced last month he would be leaving the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the things cited that he was seeking from a new team was "happiness" over money.

Money is no object to James at this point in his life or career, so finding the best basketball fit could be his top priority. The Sixers certainly have all the ingredients to help him win at least one more title before his career comes to an end.