How many contracts has James signed in his career? 532 million historical first! It is expected to exceed 600 million this year

There is no 24th in the rivers and lakes

2024-05-23 18:41Posted in Henan Sports Creators

In 2022, after James signed a two-year contract of 97.13 million with the Lakers, his total career salary reached 532 million, which is also unique in history. And now two years later, James will be eligible to jump out of his original contract and become a free agent this year, but according to Shams' report, the Lakers are ready to keep James with a maximum salary of 164 million.

If James does sign the 164 million contract with the Lakers in the end, his career total salary will officially exceed $600 million, which will also help James set a new record again. Although James is 39 years old, he still averages 25+7+8 per game this season, and can also average 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 1 block per game in the playoffs, shooting 56.6% from the field.

So let's review James' career and see how many contracts he has signed and whether his performance is worthy of his salary.

1.4 years 18.79 million (rookie contract)

After the Cavaliers won the No. 1 pick in 2003, it was already clear to everyone that James, the "chosen one", was going to Cleveland. In his rookie season, James averaged 20+5+5 per game, and in the second year, it soared to an average of 27+7+7 per game, so he also became the youngest player in history to be selected to the best team.

In the third year of the Cavaliers, James finally brought the team into the playoffs, and he was selected for the best team for the first time this season, averaging 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game in the playoffs, so the Cavaliers couldn't wait to complete an early contract extension with him in the offseason, and in the first season after the contract extension, James took the Cavaliers all the way to the Finals.

2.4 years 60 million (knights)

In the 2007-2008 season, James' new contract came into effect, and this year James averaged 30+7+7 per game in the regular season, and he not only returned to the team, but also won the scoring title, but unfortunately lost to the Celtics in the playoffs. In the next two seasons, James won two MVPs in a row, and under his leadership, the Cavaliers became the overlord of the Eastern regular season, and they were also the first in the East for two consecutive years, but the successive losses in the playoffs still made James unhappy, so in 2010 he decided to bring his talent to the Heat.

3.6 years 110 million (Heat)

Although James wanted to leave, he still helped the Cavaliers minimize the loss, and he joined the Heat in a sign-and-trade fashion, in exchange for a few draft picks for the Cavaliers. And in order to better win the championship, James also chose to take a salary cut, so in his four seasons with the Heat, only the annual salary in the 2013-2014 season ranked in the top ten in the league.

However, in the four seasons of the Heat, although James did not earn so much, he won the championship he dreamed of, and in 2012 and 2013, he won MVP+FMVP for two consecutive seasons. At this time, James was still at the peak of his career, at that time he was a "hexagonal warrior", almost omnipotent at both offensive and defensive ends, and he almost won the DPOY of that year in the 2012-2013 season.

4.2 years 42.1 million (knights)

After failing to win three consecutive championships in 2014, James began to replan his future career, and in order not to regret himself, he eventually opted out of the player option and returned to Cleveland. Although when James left, the Cavaliers owner also spoke ill of him, but when he learned that James intended to return, he not only offered a 2-year 42.1 million contract, but also exchanged the top pick in his hand for the Timberwolves' All-Star interior LeFou.

However, the 2014-2015 season was not smooth for James and the Cavaliers, due to the frequent weight gain in the Heat to the inside, James had a serious back injury this year, and it can be seen from the regular season that he was in very bad shape. In the playoffs, James was still playing with injuries, but unfortunately after Love and Irving were reimbursed for consecutive seasons, James could only fight with the Warriors with a group of role players, and in the end they also lost the series with a score of 2-4.

5.2 years 47 million (knights)

However, the loss in the Finals did not make James lose confidence in the Cavaliers, and he himself knew that if the team could stay healthy, there was still a great hope of winning the championship, so he signed a 1+1 contract with the Cavaliers in the offseason.

Under the leadership of James, the Cavaliers returned to the Finals, but in the face of the 73-win Warriors, they played even worse than the previous year, and the score has come to 1-3 after four games, and the Cavaliers will go home if they lose one more game. However, James did not give up, and in the next three games, he showed a dominant level of play to lead the team to complete a big comeback. G5 James cut 41 + 16 + 7 + 3 + 3, G6 cut 41 + 8 + 11 + 4 + 3, G7 is 27 + 11 + 11 + 2 + 3, and finally the Cavaliers became the first team in history to fall behind 1-3 in the finals and turn the tables, and James was also elected FMVP with the performance of five statistics for the first players on both sides.

6.3 years 100 million (Knights)

After winning the championship in 2016, James signed a 2+1 contract with the Cavaliers, and he still led the team to the Finals in the next two seasons, but in the face of the Warriors after Durant joined, the gap between the two sides was too huge, 4-1 by the Gentlemen in 2017, and 4-0 after losing Irving in 2018.

However, even so, James still played a historic game in the 2017-2018 season, especially in the playoffs, where the 33-year-old averaged 34 points, 9.1 rebounds, 9 assists, 1.4 steals and 1 block per game, shooting 53.9% from the field. In a single playoff game, James contributed 2 whistle-blowing kills, 8 40+ times (including 51 points in a single game against the Warriors), after witnessing James' crazy performance this year, Cavaliers fans were all moved, so when James left the team again in the offseason, fans only blessed him.

7.4 years 153 million (Lakers)

When James became a free agent in 2018, almost all teams in the league threw olive branches to him, among which the Lakers were also one of his hottest homes from beginning to end, in order to get James, Magic Johnson personally went to James' house to persuade him. And when James decided to join the Lakers, many people were ridiculing him for coming to Los Angeles to "retire", because on the one hand, James was about to be 34 years old, and on the other hand, because the Lakers had been rotten for many years at that time, and everyone was not optimistic that James at this age could make them usher in a transformation.

However, after James came to the Lakers, he did not say that he was messing with the team, and if it weren't for a large number of injuries, he might have been able to lead the team back to the playoffs in his first season with the Lakers. And because of James' presence, the Lakers' ability to attract stars has once again been highlighted, and the 2018-2019 season has designated him to come to Los Angeles, and finally the deal was officially finalized in the 2019 offseason.

In their first season together, they won a championship for the Lakers, which allowed them to tie the Celtics' first place in NBA history in terms of championships. After winning the championship, James has no reason to leave, not only is the team competitive enough, but his commercial value in Los Angeles can be better utilized.

8.2 years 85 million

I have to say that it is estimated that only James has the guts, at the age of 36, James still chose to sign a 1+1 contract with the Lakers. In the 2020-2021 season, James averaged 25+7+7 per game, and during the season, he once became the favorite for MVP, which once again let people see how strong he is.

However, James is not healthy this season, because of a high ankle sprain, he not only missed a lot of games, but the form of the playoffs has also declined significantly, and the thick eyebrows failed to continue playing in the playoffs that year due to a groin injury, and finally in the 18th season of his career, James ushered in the first playoff first-round tour of his career.

9.2 years 97.13 million

And after falling in the first round in 2021, the Lakers management also made what can be called the worst trade in team history, they traded Kuzma and other chips for former MVP Wei Shao, but due to the decline of his own strength, coupled with the incompatibility between stars, his arrival not only failed to help the Lakers get better, but made the Lakers worse, and in the end the team did not even make the playoffs.

However, it is obvious that James still has gas at this time, and in the 2021-2022 regular season, James averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, so in order to keep him in the offseason, the Lakers still offered a 2-year contract of 97.13 million. Now, two years later, James is undoubtedly still worthy of every penny of his salary, and he helped the Lakers win the NBA's first midseason tournament this season, proving that he is still a top-10 star in the league.

James' Career Salary Breakdown:

2003-2004 season: 4.02 million

2004-2005 season: 4.32 million

2005-2006 season: 4.62 million

2006-2007 season: 5.83 million

2007-2008 season: 13.04 million

2008-2009 season: 14.41 million

2009-2010 season: 15.78 million

2010-2011 season: 14.5 million

2011-2012 season: 16.02 million

2012-2013 season: 17.55 million

2013-2014 season: 19.07 million

2014-2015 season: 20.64 million

2015-2016 season: 22.97 million

2016-2017 season: 30.96 million

2017-2018 season: 33.29 million

2018-2019 season: 35.65 million

2019-2020 season: 37.43 million

2020-2021 season: 39.22 million

2021-2022 season: 41.18 million

2022-2023 season: 44.47 million

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