The debate about whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the NBA’s GOAT will live on long after James retires from the league.
Both players starred during their NBA careers and have combined to win 10 championships, make 34 All-Star Games and win nine MVP trophies. James is still playing and will be able to add to his case to be considered the greatest ever ahead of Jordan.
Still, it won’t be easy to do; Jordan has six championships to his name, after all.
But one area that LeBron will certainly win is with his career earnings. The Lakers star is one of the highest-paid players in NBA history, and his new contract with Los Angeles only serves to bolster those gaudy numbers.
That said, Jordan has earned plenty of money off the court with endorsement deals and company acquisitions. That allowed him to become a multi-billionaire, a status James has yet to reach.
Here’s what to know about James and Jordan’s career earnings and their net worths as James inks another high-end contract.
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LeBron James career earnings
James is one of the top-earning NBA players of all time. He has made a whopping $479,466,457 during his career, per Spotrac.com.
James’ new contract positions him to add at least another $49,987,718 million to the fold as part of his two-year extension with the Lakers. If he picks up his player option and plays out the remainder of that deal, he will have a total of $583,440,910 to his name from his NBA career.
In 21 seasons, James has won four NBA titles, four NBA MVPs and has been named to a whopping 20 consecutive All-Star Games. As such, he has been worth every penny for the Cavaliers, Heat and Lakers during his NBA career.
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Michael Jordan career earnings
Jordan’s career earnings pale in comparison to James’, as NBA contracts simply weren’t as lucrative during the Bulls star’s playing days.
Jordan made $93,877,500 total during his 16-year NBA career, per Spotrac.com. He made $4 million or less in 14 of his 16 seasons. In those two outlier seasons, the Bulls star made $30,140,000 and $33,140,000 during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons respectively before retiring from the NBA to try his hand at minor league baseball.
Like James, Jordan was well worth what the Bulls (and Wizards) spent to employ him. The Hall of Famer was a 14-time All-Star, six-time champion and NBA Finals MVP and a five-time regular-season MVP winner.
Had Jordan played in the modern NBA — especially after the league signed its 2016 TV deal that caused salaries to skyrocket — he may have rivaled LeBron’s career earnings. Still, Jordan can’t complain too much, as his endorsement deals and partnership with Nike under the Jordan brand have allowed him to become one of the richest people in the world.
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Michael Jordan net worth
Jordan has a net worth of $3.2 billion, according to Forbes. The former NBA star earned most of his money from off-the-court endorsement deals with Nike, Hanes and Gatorade. He used the estimated $2.4 billion in wealth generated from those teams to buy a majority stake in the Hornets; he recently sold it in a deal that valued the franchise at $3 million.
Jordan ranks the 1,017th-wealthiest person in the world as of July 3, per Forbes. While he may have missed out on significant earnings given when he played in the NBA, he has certainly done well for himself after his basketball career ended.
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LeBron James net worth
James has out-earned Jordan during his playing days, but the current Laker has a net worth of $1.2 billion, per Forbes. That makes him the richest active athlete of all time.
James has earned significantly more than Jordan on the court, but his success off it is a bit more measured than Jordan’s. James has earned an estimated $900 million from endorsement deals with Pepsi and Nike. He also has taken equity in certain companies and products, like Beats by Dre and Fenway Sports Group.
James ranks as the world’s 2,741st-richest person as of July 3. It isn’t clear whether that data or projection covers the anticipated $104 million he will earn as part of his deal with the Lakers, but James figures only to move up as he continues to exploit the NBA’s near-max salary of $50 million-plus in the twilight of his playing days.