Los Angeles Lakers owner and president Jeanie Buss has made her thoughts known about LeBron James’s astronomical salary. At 39-years-old the NBA’s all-time leading scorer signed a new two-year contract worth $101.35 million this summer to stay with the purple and gold franchise.
Lakers Owner Jeanie Buss Speaks On LeBron James’ Huge Salary
Jeanie Buss made a recent appearance on the Petros and Money show on AM 570 LA Sports, where she discussed the team allowing James to represent Team USA in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris despite the associated risk, especially with his mileage. The 62-year-old also made an honest remark about his new contract.
“I think he’s so competitive, it’s really gotta be something that he wants to do. We always support our players in the decisions that they make in regards to playing for their national team or not. It was something that was important to LeBron, and yes, he is our highest-paid player, but he’s still a bargain to me. He’s absolutely amazing.”
The 20-time NBA All-Star actually took a slight discount, signing for below the maximum of $104 million he was eligible to receive. The $2.7 million discount helped the Lakers avoid salary cap restrictions and opened up a $12.9 million midlevel exception. However, the Lakers were unable to utilize this exception after failing to attract notable free agents such as Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan.
Jeanie Buss is Willing to Pay LeBron James More
James will be the Lakers’ highest-paid player in the 2024-25 NBA season, earning $48.7 million in the first year of his new deal. The second and final year of his contract is a player option worth $52.6 million. Regardless of James’ massive salary, which is unprecedented, especially considering his age, Buss is still willing to shell out more for the King if she can due to the 2024 Paris Olympics MVP’s star power which generates way more revenue than what he makes.
“Because we’re a salary cap league, there’s only so much that we can pay him. He brings us the notoriety in the league but also internationally. He’s a huge star and he’s a great leader for this team. It’s the same as Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant because we’re in a capped league, and they probably should have been paid twice what they get. But we can only pay him the maximum.”
LeBron James’ Salary Fails to Make Top 10 for 2024-25 Season
Despite being the highest-paid player on the Los Angeles Lakers roster, James’s salary barely cracks the top 10 highest-paid players in the entire league for the upcoming 2024-25 NBA season. The four-time NBA Finals MVP’s salary of $48.7 million ranks only 14th in the association, with Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry leading the list at $55.7 million.
James’ Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, the second-best-paid Laker for 2024-25, is slightly behind as the 16th highest-paid player in the NBA with a salary of $43.2 million. Davis is set to surpass James as the highest-paid member of the Lakers roster in the 2025-26 NBA season when he is scheduled to earn $57.6 million compared to James’s $52.6 million if the latter opts into his player option for the campaign.
