LeBron James signed a three-year contract worth nearly $100 million, and OF COURSE he got every clause in his favor – including a player option.
Chris Broussard of ESPN:
LeBron's 3 yr, $100 million deal with Cavs has a player option for 3rd year, source says
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) August 11, 2016
I bet LeBron also has a no-trade clause and 15% trade kicker, just for posterity.
LeBron’s salaries:
- 2016-17: $30,963,450
- 2017-18: $33,285,709
- 2018-19: $35,607,968 (player option)
Based on the NBA’s latest salary-cap projection, LeBron’s max in 2018-19 would be about $35.5 million. Of course, that’s a relatively rough estimate, because:
1. The league’s projections tend to be conservative.
2. The Collective Bargaining Agreement could change before then, significantly altering the system.
LeBron won’t have to make the call for another couple years, and he’ll have much more information by the time he does. But he has a $35,607,968 salary in the bag and will opt out only if his options look better. That’s a pretty great fallback.
