Los Angeles Lakers superstar Lebron James and Golden State Warriors defending champion Stephen Curry is set to earn an absurd amount of money in the next year.
James and Curry are two of the top faces in the NBA. It could even be argued that they are the combined face of the league — all due respect to Kevin Durant. James is the greatest player of the last 20 years and Curry is the most dynamic scoring talent today and has revolutionized how the sport is played on various levels. With notoriety comes boatloads of cash in contracts with their organizations and in sponsorships.
On Thursday, Sportico published a breakdown of which league’s top players earn the most money over the next year. With the NBA having some of the most popular athletes around the world, their top 15 players lead the way with a whopping $969 million. And “The King” is at the tippy top of that list at $119.5 million.
Related: NBA power rankings – Who tops our list heading into the 2022-2023 season?
What is impressive about James’ earnings for next season, is that much of it will come off the court. The outlet reports that the multi-time NBA champion will pull in $75 million alone in endorsement money. As much as 40% of that comes from his unique lifetime deal with Nike. Some of the other notable power brands that are handing over millions to the Lakers star include AT&T, PepsiCo, and Crypto.com — which also has their name slapped on what used to be known as the Staples Center.
- Lebron James stats (2021-2022): 30.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 6.2 APG, 1.3 SPG, .359 3PT%
Stephen Curry follows Lebron James in annual earnings with $93.1 million
After James, Golden State Warriors icon Stephen Curry is the next highest earner in the NBA. However, the 34-year-old falls well behind James at $93.1 million. Yet, the area where he does beat out James is the money he makes to score buckets in the association. For the sixth straight season, he will own the biggest contract in the sport at $48.1 million for 2022-2023. James is set to make over $44 million this season.
After Curry, the NBA talents that follow him in annual wealth are Kevin Durant ($91), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($86.5), and Russell Westbrook ($72.1).
- Stephen Curry stats (2021-2022): 25.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 6.3 APG, 1.3 SPG, .380 3PT%
In comparison, soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe will make $128 million on and off the field this season.