For comparison, James only makes $19 million per year from his salary with the Heat. You know, ONLY $19 million, more than any of us will ever see in our lives.
It’s believed to be the largest such payout for an athlete in history. Darren Rovell tweeted that David Wright’s stake in Vitamin Water, reported to be about $20 million, was actually much less, so this payday might not even really have any competition.
The larger story, though, is about James’ big cash dump changes the way the Heat can finance potential additions to their team. James is a 10-time all-star, four-time MVP, two-time champion, and two-time Finals MVP, and still has never been the highest-paid player on his team. And he doesn’t have to be: his off-court earnings make his actual salary somewhat irrelevant. He can afford to take less money, and allow his team to fit in other quality players under the league-mandated salary cap. And the more his team wins, the more he’ll be worth to potential endorsers, now and in the future.
Of course, that’s not to say James should or will pass up money from the
Heat — his career won’t last forever — but he’s shown a willingness to do so in past, and his financial situation has only gotten much, much more secure since the last time he signed a contract.
Earlier this year, we began stalking the fertility Gods, when Savannah attended All Star Weekend, with what appeared to be a bump of sorts. Specifically, the Miami Heat superstar hosted a GQ party, where his wife rocked a long, fitted dress. At the time, we couldn’t tell if it was a simple bad angle or if she was expecting.
Over the weekend, Page Six reported that Savannah had been spotted sporting a baby bump in recent weeks. And notes of congratulation popped up on her Facebook page Tuesday after she cryptically posted,
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
A Miami Heat rep insists that Savannah is ‘not pregnant‘. The James camp has yet to address the rumors themselves. Savannah has refrained from taking photos on the rare red carpets that she has attended, nor has she shared Instagram photos of herself.
Lebron proposed to Savannah, his high school sweetheart, on December 31, 2011 at a party celebrating New Year’s Eve and his 27th birthday. The two were married last year. Together they have two sons, LeBron James, Jr. (9) and Bryce Maximus James (6).
(May 14th), before Lebron James and the Miami Heat eliminated the Brooklyn Nets from the NBA Playoffs, James spoke with ESPN about the statements made by NBA players union vice president Roger Mason Jr. on Jim Rome on Showtime:
“Roger comes in here, we speak about issues. I believe that issue came up but, as a team, we never discussed it. Roger is a great guy and I don’t have a problem with him at all.”
Roger Mason Jr addressed his comments on his personal Twitter account, admitting to being unclear on the boycott news:
My bad if I was not clear.LBJ never said anything about boycotting.He's a friend and I would never want to imply something he didn't say
— Roger Mason Jr (@MoneyMase) May 14, 2014
An extremely reliable source in the couple’s circle tells TheYBF.com that Savannah is approximately 15 weeks along. And most of her fellow Miami Heat WAGS (wives and girlfriends) have already been told.
We’re told Savannah, who appeared at last month’s NBA All Star GQ Magazine event (above) honoring her husband with a rounder belly, has missed a few events hosted by Heat wives due to all-day morning sickness. But that’s to be expected.
Just a few weeks ago, Savannah went back home to Akron to help out with her friend’s charity event. And Bump Watch went into overdrive:
According to Mike Fleming Jr. of Deadline.com (h/t Scooby Axson of Sports Illustrated), James will be playing a major role in Ballers—a basketball film about a diminutive underachiever struggling to remove himself from the shadow of his NBA superstar brother.
At this point, it’s time to note that Hart is 5’3” and James is 6’8”. I think you can figure out who will be playing who in this film.
While still in the writing process, the plot of Ballers will circle around an NBA fantasy camp attended by Hart and his friends.
According to Eric Freeman of Yahoo! Sports, the movie’s inception took place in 2009 and was originally earmarked with the rough draft-ish sounding title “Fantasy Basketball Camp.”
The project was put off, however, as James’ basketball career with the Cleveland Cavaliers continued to take the driver’s seat. His move to Miami and subsequent vilification probably didn’t grease any wheels in Hollywood, either.
James waited it out, and after three years and two NBA championships, it would seem he’s finally ready for his close-up.
While still tentative, the production of Ballers is scheduled to begin next summer during the NBA offseason.
We love folks with talent…and we love even more folks who know how to flip their talent umpteen ways.
LeBron James has spoken before about wanting to become a billionaire. So now that he’s the most visible & respected face currently in the NBA, he took advantage of the opportunity to meet with one of the richest men in the world. And likely got some good advice and/or struck a business deal or two.
He posted the above image saying:
Just finished a great dinner with Carlos Slim and his family! Wonderful folks. See u guys again soon #PowerMoves #GoogleHimIfYouDontKnow #ThisGameofBasketballHasOpenedDoorsThatMasterKeysCantOpen #BuffettSlimJames #Big3 #ImThe3rdOptionButIBringTheStyleAndSwag
Here’s what else we know: Mr. Slim, the Mexican billionaire who goes back and forth with Bill Gates for the richest man in the world title, owns the América Móvil telecommunicatons company. He put $60 million into a separately existing project called Mobli, which is said to be the super popular Israeli competitior to Instagram. Mobli has signed on plenty of celebrity endorsements. is now focusing on the mobile app version of the project and is expanding with Latin American users. And last month, Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted wining and dining with Carlos as well, and reportedly invested a few millions. We hear Serena Williams did as well.
Tech Crunch describes Mobli as:
Originally launched in 2011, Mobli is a sort of ‘Instagram on uppers’ allowing users to connect around common interests via other users, hashtags and locations in their feed. Is has a lot of features that latter app does not.
Unlike Instagram, when a user wants to post a photo, the Mobli app immediately offers the latest three images added to the gallery. No need to click into it to select which is very convenient.
So, we’ve got to wonder….is Bron Bron about to throw his hat into the multimillion dollar Mobli ring?
Time and cash flow will tell…
“This collaboration with LeBron James and Nike is all about expanding. I’ve been blessed to have so much success producing singles for other artists, and now, I’m just trying to stay creative, to start working on more diverse and different projects, like scoring commercials and movies, and executive producing albums and game or movie soundtracks. Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz album was the first project I executive produced.Peep the video
LeBron is someone that’s been supporting the music I’ve done – he saw that I’m a young cat with no boundaries to my sound. And I’m a fan of his, too. He flew me to Miami while he filmed the commercial, and while I was there I got the chance meet with him and his whole team, as well as the producers from the Nike commercial. They let me know the feel and direction they wanted and I executed. Funny thing is, I already partially had the song, ‘My Shoes,’ done, and we continued to work on it to get it to match the commercial. I reached out to John Legend got him to cut vocals, and he sent it right back. We edited the song to fit the commercial and nailed it. Everyone was excited including Lebron and now we have this Nike spot that we hope everyone enjoys. The full song, my version of ‘My Shoes,’ will be on my album, Est. In 1989 Pt. 3."
"Tell LeBron to worry about Miami," Garnett grumbled late Thursday. "He has nothing to do with Celtic business."
Garnett punctuated his words with a pound of the podium and snarl burning straight to South Beach. In his rush to defend Ray Allen, James blasted Garnett and Paul Pierce with flawed and forced logic. James called them out as hypocrites for such a harsh response to Allen's free agent fleeing to Miami, only to make the move themselves a year later.
Of course, James' assault made little sense, considering the Celtics traded Pierce and Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets. The Celtics pushed Garnett to waive his no-trade clause, insisting they no longer wanted him as part of a rebuild. As a free agent, Allen turned down $12 million from the Celtics to take $6.5 million from the Heat.
Allen had his reasons, and they're well-documented. In the end, Doc Rivers could no longer get Garnett and Pierce to recruit Allen to stay, sources told Yahoo. Neither player would call Allen, and only Pierce could be counted upon to even text him. The partnership had run its course, and Allen made the right, if unpopular, decision for himself.
Nevertheless, two championships have emboldened James to take his shots – perhaps because he's tired of absorbing them for years. When asked about James' criticisms on Thursday night, Pierce said, "I left Boston?" It was his way of simply saying: What the hell's LeBron talking about?
At 36, Pierce understands words don't carry the clout of deeds. This is why he delivered a shoulder block to James on a breakaway in the first quarter of Thursday's 86-62 victory over Miami. Garnett landed a soft blow upside James' head, too. For October, this wasn't bad theater. "That's going to be our identity," Pierce said. "That's a message to the league."
For everything the Pierce and Garnett deal represented about the Nets championship aspirations, it wasn't until the bargain-basement signing for an A-list free agent, Andrei Kirilenko, that some within the Heat organization truly considered the Nets a major problem.
Kirilenko gives the Nets a versatile defender for James and Dwyane Wade, an offensive threat who can fill the box score columns like few peers.
After chasing $8 million to $10 million a year on the market, Kirilenko settled on a $3.2 million exception with the Nets. Much of the NBA cried conspiracy, and the league office was forced into conducting an impossible investigation to understand the fluidity of Kirilenko's free-agent process. If the league office was trying to find an opening for a side deal, Kirilenko and the Nets simply explained this as a circumstance where the market dried up and a player accepted less to play for a big-market contender.
The NBA brought AK-47's agent and a union representative into the league office to meet with the lawyers, but the stories checked out. League lawyers reached out to front-office executives who had been in contact with Kirilenko on free-agent discussions – some who had interest, some who didn't. Ultimately, people couldn't do anything but grudgingly congratulate owner Mikhail Prokhorov and general manager Billy King on a job well done.
Prokhorov gave King an unprecedented threshold for luxury-tax pain – $80 million on top of a $100 million payroll – and King cobbled together the assets to make big trades, and had the recruiting chops to sell talented veterans on below-market money. In a lot of ways, it's been very Riley-esque.
Several teams demanded an investigation, but the Heat never complained, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Part of the reason is that Miami owner Micky Arison has a strong relationship with King and respect for him, but mostly the Heat understand what it means to be a target in free-agency conspiracy accusations. Truth be told, too: Miami's an organization that craves the competition.
As long as Deron Williams' ankle doesn't become a major recurring issue this season, Brooklyn should emerge as a relentless pursuer – along with Chicago and Indiana – of the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions. It started on Thursday, and maybe it doesn't stop until springtime.
An old fight with familiar old faces tumbled out of New England on Thursday night, and down into New York: LeBron Against the World. Celtics business had turned into Nets business, and only one currency remains accepted at the counter: Pure, unfiltered hatred.