The Los Angeles Lakers have signed superstar LeBron James to a two-year contract extension.
The deal, which includes a player option for the 2024-25 season, is worth a monstrous $97.1 million.
BREAKING: Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has agreed on a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension – including a player option for the 2024-2025 season, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. James had been entering final year of deal worth $44.5M.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 17, 2022
The two-year, $97.1M extension, which includes a 15 percent trade kicker, makes LeBron James the highest earning player in NBA history with $532M in guaranteed money. He surpasses Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant. pic.twitter.com/UUHMspiKZp
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 17, 2022
With James locked down in L.A. for the foreseeable future, he and the organization can now continue to work on ways to build another championship contender.
As Lakers fans know all too well, the 2021-22 campaign was a major clunker for the team. Though the Lakers entered the season as perceived title contenders, they ended up missing the playoffs entirely.
James surely will use this new sign of commitment as encouragement, but he likely needs no added incentive to try to win another title with the Lakers. He’s currently chasing some NBA legends when it comes to ring counts and is trying to win more titles before his time in the league runs out.
Though nothing is certain, it is possible that James, 37, just signed his final contract in the NBA. He could very well retire by the time his new deal runs out.
