LeBron James signs 76ers minimum contract for two years, $8 million
LeBron James said he chose Philadelphia to chase another title, taking a steep pay cut from his Lakers deal.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
The LeBron James 76ers contract is a two-year veteran minimum deal worth about $8 million, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported, citing James’ agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group. James announced the move on X, giving Philadelphia a billionaire active NBA star at a price far below his recent earnings.
The contract marks a sharp pay cut from James’ last deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. He made $52.6 million last season under a two-year, $104 million extension he signed in 2024, according to the reported figures.
Philadelphia’s payroll limited what the team could offer. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and newly acquired Jaylen Brown already take up much of the 76ers’ cap sheet, and the club had only a minimum-salary slot available after trading for Brown from the Boston Celtics.
Why did LeBron James take the 76ers minimum contract?
James said in his X announcement that his decision was about competing for another championship rather than maximizing pay. “I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family,” he wrote, adding that he still wanted “to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.”
A veteran’s minimum is the smallest salary slot available for a player with James’ level of service time. For Philadelphia, it allows the team to add him without the cap cost of a maximum deal, which would have started closer to $54 million this season for a player with his tenure, according to the reported salary framework.
The deal puts James well below the NBA’s average player salary for 2025-26, which is roughly $13.8 million. Compared with the maximum salary he could have sought under the collective bargaining agreement, his reported contract is about 7 cents on the dollar.
How James’ billionaire status changes the contract story
Forbes estimates James’ net worth at about $1.4 billion. He became the NBA’s first active billionaire in 2022, with wealth tied to business interests including a lifetime Nike agreement, stakes connected to Fenway Sports Group and Liverpool FC, and ventures such as SpringHill Company and Blaze Pizza.
James has long been one of the sport’s highest-profile maximum-contract players, moving from Cleveland to Miami, back to Cleveland and then to Los Angeles. His free agency this time lasted long enough to draw attention across the league, though CBS Sports reported it did not surpass the record wait from his 2016 free agency.
The basketball stakes are plain: James joins a 76ers roster already built around Embiid, Maxey and Brown. Brown’s arrival from Boston added another major salary and another star to a team trying to contend for a championship.
James has won four NBA titles in 10 Finals appearances, including eight straight trips to the Finals during one stretch of his career. He is often compared with Michael Jordan, who went 6-for-6 in NBA Finals appearances.
Prediction markets missed Philadelphia
Prediction markets did not see the signing coming. Shortly before James’ Friday morning announcement, Kalshi users gave Philadelphia an 8.7% chance of being his next team, while Miami stood at 48.8%.
After James posted his decision, Philadelphia’s odds surged to 99% on Kalshi. Miami and Golden State, the next-closest teams, fell below 1%.
Trading around James’ next team had been heavy. Combined volume across Kalshi and Polymarket had topped $245 million, and the Kalshi market reached more than $227 million in volume about 20 minutes after James’ post.
James ended his announcement by thanking his previous teams and cities. “Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home!” he wrote.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.