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One of the main talking points regarding LeBron James’ signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on July 24 was his salary cut. King James signed a two-year deal that will pay him $3.9 million next season.

It's nearly a $50 million pay cut. It's below his rookie salary of around $4 million. It’s the largest pay cut in NBA history.

But it isn’t how James makes the bulk of his cash.

USA TODAY analyzed James’ annual salary and estimated endorsement earnings over the course of his career and found that he’s earned roughly 65% of his career earnings from endorsements — a figure that represents nearly two-thirds of his overall pay.

In total, James has earned over $1.5 billion (not inflation-adjusted) across his 23-season NBA career, with over $1 billion coming from endorsements. Per Sportico, he’s the fourth-highest paid athlete of all time behind Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo and Tiger Woods.

This means that while James’ salary for the 2026-27 season is around 92% less than his final Los Angeles Lakers salary, he’ll still be making a hefty paycheck from endorsement deals.

Using James’ trend in endorsement earnings since 2021, USA TODAY calculates that his endorsement figure for 2026-27 would sit at around $91 million.

When combined with his salary number, James looks set to earn around $95 million for the upcoming season. And that's not even factoring in James' other business ventures, such as his minority partnership stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club and other sports and media holdings.

The pay cut will likely drop him down from No. 4 on Forbes’ highest paid athletes list, but a $95 million haul would still place him tied for No. 12 on the 2026 list, which was published in May. He’d be tied with soccer star Kylian Mbappe, one of the leading stars at the 2026 World Cup.

Of course, that’s just a trends-based estimate — it’s certainly plausible that James could earn even more from endorsements in the upcoming season.

So, James is taking a big pay cut ― one that enables the 76ers to maintain a stacked roster that also includes Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown ― his overall cash hit isn’t as harsh as it initially seems.

Methodology: Salary data from Spotrac’s year-by-year cash earnings table. Endorsement data through 2025-26 from Forbes. USA TODAY estimated the 2026-27 endorsement figure based on recent trends.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James took a massive pay cut. He still makes bank.

With teams like the Thunder and Spurs possessing dominant frontcourt players, it was clear obtaining a center was a high priority for Los Angeles.

They accomplished that goal by trading for Walker Kessler, who the Lakers reportedly feel will pair very well with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves in this new era. While they got the blockbuster deal done, it was far from a foregone conclusion. Kessler was a restricted free agent, so the Jazz could’ve paid whatever it cost to keep him or simply refused to send him to the Lakers.

Considering how important it was to obtain a big, the Lakers had to have backup plans. In a recent article by Dan Woike in The Athletic, Mitchell Robinson may have been viewed by the team as Plan B.

Had it not been Kessler, the Lakers, according to team and league sources, would’ve likely tried to sign free agent center Mitchell Robinson, who left the New York Knicks to sign a three-year, $47.4 million deal with Boston.

Robinson was linked to the Lakers throughout the offseason. In fact, the Lakers were even reportedly interested in drafting Robinson had he fallen to them at No. 39 in the 2018 NBA Draft. So, it’s no surprise that after a season where he won a title with the Knicks and LA needed a productive center, they’d be interested in Robinson.

While Robinson is a fine player, he is definitely not at Kessler’s level. Last year, Robinson averaged  5.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He’s a solid defender and an efficient scorer, shooting 72.3% from the field last season.

However, Kessler has far better production. During the 2024-25 season, Kessler averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.

Lakers President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka had to have backup plans in place in case the top option wasn’t acquirable. Luckily for them, things worked out.

The Lakers got Kessler, and Robinson ended up signing a three-year $47.4 million deal with the Celtics.

This was an interesting Plan B. Hopefully, Plan A works out even better.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

LeBron James is planning to produce a documentary to chronicle the final seasons of his NBA career and his move to the Philadelphia 76ers, according to multiple reports. But one of his closest associates is pushing back on speculation that the NBA's all-time leading scorer intends to produce a project similar to "The Last Dance" featuring Michael Jordan.

ESPN is close to reaching an agreement related to a documentary featuring James, The Athletic reported on Tuesday, July 30, though potential financial terms and and a tentative release date were still unknown. It's expected that James will have a camera crew following him throughout the 2026-27 season with the 76ers, in addition to the documentary featuring new behind-the-scenes footage from previous seasons.

James has not yet announced any official plans to produce a documentary and Maverick Carter, the CEO and co-founder of James' production company denied that they're planning anything similar to "The Last Dance."

The possibility that the NBA’s investigation into Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers could stretch into 2027 has not killed the blockbuster trade sending him back to the Toronto Raptors.

Both franchises still intend to complete the deal, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, despite uncertainty over when the league will conclude its investigation into allegations that the Clippers circumvented salary-cap rules to compensate Leonard.

The nearly year-long probe centers on a four-year, $28 million endorsement agreement Leonard received from Aspiration, a now-bankrupt company that previously held a major sponsorship deal with the Clippers.

Los Angeles owner Steve Ballmer has acknowledged introducing Leonard to Aspiration but denied arranging or knowing about the endorsement agreement. The Clippers and Leonard have consistently denied wrongdoing.

The league is examining whether the endorsement was legitimate or an improper method of funneling additional money to Leonard outside his NBA contract.

Holmes reported that the investigation could extend into next year if the league, Clippers, Leonard and National Basketball Players Association cannot agree on the findings or any proposed punishment.

The union would reportedly be prepared to take the case to arbitration if it believed the NBA attempted to discipline Leonard without sufficient evidence. That process could add months to an investigation that has already complicated one of the offseason’s biggest moves.

Toronto and Los Angeles reportedly agreed to the trade on June 30. Leonard would return to the franchise he led to the 2019 championship, while the Clippers would receive a package headlined by Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and multiple draft picks.

The transaction was placed on hold after the NBA informed Toronto that it would assume the risk of any punishment affecting Leonard once the trade became official.

Potential discipline could include fines, lost draft picks, suspensions for team personnel or even the voiding of Leonard’s contract. Exactly how any penalty would affect a completed trade remains unclear.

That uncertainty explains Toronto’s reluctance to finalize the deal before the league reaches a decision. It has not, however, changed the Raptors’ desire to reunite with Leonard.

Shortly after the trade, Raptors team president Masai Ujiri expressed confidence in Leonard’s mindset.

“He is determined and seems in the right frame of mind,” Ujiri said. “You will be hearing from him shortly. I think there is a fire inside of him and we are all excited about that.”

The 35-year-old is coming off a career-best scoring season, averaging 27.9 points across 65 appearances.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently expressed hope that the investigation would conclude before the regular season, but no formal deadline has been announced.

The Raptors and Clippers are therefore preparing to move forward while waiting for a process they cannot control.

Leonard’s return to Toronto still appears to be the expected outcome. The only question is whether it happens before training camp, before the regular season—or after the investigation becomes a problem that follows both teams into 2027.

LeBron James’ final NBA chapter could be captured from the inside.

James and ESPN are reportedly nearing an agreement on a documentary series that would follow his time with the Philadelphia 76ers while revisiting the defining moments of his career, according to The Athletic.

Negotiations are said to be at the “one-yard line,” although financial terms and a potential release date remain unknown. ESPN and a representative for James declined to comment on the report.

Should the deal be finalized, cameras would follow James throughout his first season in Philadelphia, where he will begin a record-extending 24th NBA campaign. The series would also pull from an extensive archive of footage collected since James emerged as a national phenomenon at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

That could provide viewers with previously unseen material from a career that has stretched across Cleveland, Miami, Los Angeles and now Philadelphia.

The obvious comparison is Michael Jordan’s “The Last Dance,” the 10-part ESPN documentary centered on the Chicago Bulls’ 1997-98 championship season. Cameras received extraordinary access to Jordan and the Bulls during their final title run, although the series was not released until 2020.

A James project would only intensify the debate that has followed both superstars for years. Jordan’s documentary revisited the end of a dynasty. James’ version could capture the conclusion of the other career most commonly mentioned in basketball’s greatest-player conversation.

The biggest unanswered question is whether this is actually James’ final season.

The 41-year-old called joining Philadelphia his “last decision,” but he signed a two-year contract and reportedly holds a player option after the 2026-27 campaign. His agent, Rich Paul, has also left open the possibility that James could play beyond the next two seasons.

That uncertainty could affect when the series reaches television. A documentary chronicling James’ arrival in Philadelphia would already carry enormous interest, but its impact would be greater if the footage ultimately captured his final games.

James chose the 76ers after ending an eight-season run with the Lakers, whom he helped lead to the 2020 championship. He now joins a star-heavy Philadelphia roster featuring Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and newly acquired Jaylen Brown.

The move was made with a fifth championship in mind. If the 76ers can deliver one while cameras document the season, James could produce the Hollywood ending Jordan enjoyed with Chicago.

Unlike “The Last Dance,” however, nobody yet knows when James will take his final bow.

Good morning New York! So you broke a championship curse that spanned five decades. Fifty-three years since the last banner went up, and now there’s a new one. Welcome to the club nobody tells you the rules of until you’re already a member. You are the curse breaker, the uplifter of community, the beacon of hope. You’re also the biggest target alive.

Welcome to being the 2015 Warriors after the parade.

I say that with love, because as an Oakland kid who watched his longsuffering franchise FINALLY make good, I lived it. That team walked into the next season with the same core, the same coach, the same swagger, and it still didn’t repeat. Golden State went 73 wins deep the year after and still watched someone else hoist the trophy. Talent wasn’t the problem and neither was continuity wasn’t the problem. The problem is that winning a title doesn’t freeze the league in place around you. Rather, it wakes the whole league up. Every single franchise has to look at itself and say “whoa if that box of misfit toys can win, why can’t we?”. And right now, the whole league is very much awake.

I distinctly recall the Warriors having to battle a myriad of “lucky” allegations that drove the team into a psychopathic competitive zone. The Knicks are gonna have to find some of that juice to make the new climb.

Let’s start with what New York already knows is coming. Mitchell Robinson is gone to the rival Celtics. Miami paired Giannis Antetokounmpo with Bam Adebayo. Philadelphia is running out Jaylen Brown next to LeBron James. Both the Celtics and 76ers are in their division! And every night, the Knicks are gonna get everyone’s best punch. Every opponent will be hyped to face the champs and embarrass them.

I know the counterargument, because it’s the same one Warriors fans told themselves in 2015. Continuity is an edge. The Knicks added Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges and needed real time to figure out how those pieces fit, and now they get to run it back with that learning already paid for while half the league starts from zero. That’s real.

But then there’s the part nobody wants to say out loud, the championship hangover. It’s not a myth. Winning a championship changes what every day feels like, and the teams that repeat are the ones who fight that change instead of pretending it isn’t happening. Jalen Brunson, Mike Brown, OG Anunoby, they’ve got the reputation for grinding through adversity. But adversity from an opponent and adversity that comes with finally getting everything you wanted are two very different monsters, and only one of them shows up on tape.

Here’s what should actually worry Knicks fans more than any of that. This team has made a habit of getting knocked down before it gets back up. Down 2-9 to start the year. Down 2-1 to Atlanta. Down 22 to Cleveland in the fourth quarter. Down 29 to San Antonio at the half. Every single time, they answered, and that resilience is real and it’s earned. But resilience like that usually gets built by being an underdog, by being counted out, by having something to prove. Nobody counts out the defending champs. The Knicks are about to spend an entire season being the hunted instead of the hunter for the first time in this era, and we genuinely don’t know yet if that changes how they play when adversity hits, because they’ve never had to find out.

So no, I’m not telling you it’s impossible. Nobody’s won back to back since 2018, and someone has to be first again eventually. But history is cruel because winning it once and winning it twice require two completely different versions of hunger, and only one team in the last decade has figured out how to hold both at the same time.

Do you know who that team was? Here’s a hint: they ran LeBron out of Cleveland.