What a hero Lebron James is!

[OrangeBlossom]

LeBron James doesn't think it's possible to be paid his actual value under the current NBA rules. Because of it, he said, he's been willing to "sacrifice" on his contracts.

"What I do on the floor shows my value. At the end of the day, I don't think my value on the floor can really be compensated for, anyways, because of the (collective bargaining agreement),"

"If you want the truth. If this was baseball, it'd be up, I mean way up there."
There is no salary cap in Major League Baseball. James, who took a pay cut to sign with the Heat in 2010, is making $17.5 million this season, tied for 13th-highest in the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant is first at $27.8 million.
In 2011, when he was asked what it would take to get him to play in Europe during the NBA's lockout, James speculated his play might be worth $50 million a year.

In the past several months, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies have traded star players because they were concerned about their salaries being too costly when a more stringent luxury tax arrives next season. The Thunder traded James Harden last fall, and the Grizzlies traded Rudy **** this week.
James and teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all took less than the maximum salary when they signed three years ago. That should enable the Heat to keep them together next season, even with the new tax rules. James doesn't believe they have gotten credit for that decision.
"I have not had a full max deal yet in my career -- that's a story untold," James said.
"I don't get (the credit) for it. That doesn't matter to me; playing the game is what matters to me. Financially, I'll sacrifice for the team. It shows for some of the top guys, it isn't all about money. That's the genuine side of this, it's about winning. I understand that."
Forbes recently estimated James earns $40 million per year in endorsements and sponsorships, thanks to deals with Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, State Farm and Samsung.
LINK

[usaosooner]

He opted out of Cleveland when they were offering a max deal. Makes 40 million off endorsement deals. cry me a river

[Teo9969]

Non-story. Somebody asked him a question, he answered it honestly.

Yes, if this were the MLB, he could fetch north of $40M/year. $50M/year is probably about right.

[OrangeBlossom]

Say you don't agree with the CBA, say you think you deserve more. Commenting that you don't get credit for sacrificing makes you sound like a **** when you're raking in that kind of money.

[Teo9969]

Say you don't agree with the CBA, say you think you deserve more. Commenting that you don't get credit for sacrificing makes you sound like a **** when you're raking in that kind of money.

Again, somebody asked him a question...he answered honestly.

He didn't just hold a press conference to announce that his contract is undervalued. Somebody probably asked him a question to the extent of "How much do you think your play is worth?"

[sooner518]

Say you don't agree with the CBA, say you think you deserve more. Commenting that you don't get credit for sacrificing makes you sound like a **** when you're raking in that kind of money.

youre really stretching to be outraged arent you? someone sounds like a **** in this thread, but it aint him.... nothing he said is incorrect in any way. relative to the rest of the league, he is underpaid. he sounds like someone who was asked a very point blank question with an obvious answer, and he answered in the obvious way.

[Wailer]

what he said is true, aannnd what the Heat have done as a team, (Bosh, Wade, James) others should try to emulate. But a dude like Harden has to get his money so he gets traded. LeBron is hard to take at times, but he's spot on here, no matter how the question was framed. They all took less to win. None of them get enough credit for that.

[VRO405]

I don't understand why we're piling on King James...give credit where credit is due... Let's not be ugly

[Lost Chickasaw]

there might be more Lebron lovers in here than you originally thought Orange. lol! I agree that he probably would make about 40-50 mill a year in baseball though.

[usaosooner]

nothing he said is incorrect in any way. relative to the rest of the league, he is underpaid. he sounds like someone who was asked a very point blank question with an obvious answer, and he answered in the obvious way.

He took less money on purpose by signing with Miami. He made that choice, he knew he wouldn't be getting paid. Should be happy he got his ring, he comes off as petty

[Boognish]

there might be more Lebron lovers in here than you originally thought Orange. lol! I agree that he probably would make about 40-50 mill a year in baseball though.

Yeah right. He probably sucks at baseball.

[OnlyOne]

Again, somebody asked him a question...he answered honestly.

He didn't just hold a press conference to announce that his contract is undervalued. Somebody probably asked him a question to the extent of "How much do you think your play is worth?"

That's exactly the point. His honest response is exactly what makes him look like a ****. Playing a kid's game for $17 million per year and $40 million in endorsements? Honest or not, his response makes him sound like a petty ****.

[KCRuf/Nek]

Funny OKC fans are bagging on LaBron when their hero bent the Thunder over and went elsewhere. Greedy is okay depending on who it is.

[lycao]

Sounds like now that he has his ring, he wants to go back to the money.

[VRO405]

I don't know if it's the perception that you guys have of LeBron, or lack of reading comprehension, but some of the comments on this thread are just absurd! All he said was that he sacrificed money for winning with the new CBA, and that it never gets talked about. He also said that if the NBA did not have a cap, he could be making a whole lot more money...

He was not complaining about how much he makes.

He did not say he was going to play baseball.

He did not say he wants to re-negotiate his contract.

Was asked a question, then replied.

[SG1]

He is right, Lebron,Kobe, KD are worth far more than their franchises pay them. And they do sacrifice money, but they are sacrificing for other "regular" players. The top players are underpaid, but the end of the bench guys are way overpaid, especially a vet who never plays and makes $2 million.

[Boognish]

They're all overpaid... that's why tickets cost an arm and a leg.
Lebron answered a question, and it might offend people because they wish they made the money he does. Just like Phil Mickelson complaining about taxes pissed people off.
Lebron isn't paid to answer questions the right way or be a politician and please everyone... he's paid to be a bad**** and win games. And he's pretty ****ing good at it.

He probably doesn't get paid enough.

[oucub23]

what he said is true, aannnd what the Heat have done as a team, (Bosh, Wade, James) others should try to emulate. But a dude like Harden has to get his money so he gets traded. LeBron is hard to take at times, but he's spot on here, no matter how the question was framed. They all took less to win. None of them get enough credit for that.

He's right. But his delivery is why I've never liked him.

[Teo9969]

Christe Eleison people...SOMEONE ASKED HIM A QUESTION AND HE ANSWERED IT.

Get the **** over it. The only people who sound petty are the one's expecting him to answer a question dishonestly to please the masses.

[VRO405]

In other news, I guess he is contemplating on participating in Slam Dunk contest.

[oudavid1]

He is the best player in the world. That's all I really know.

[sooner518]

He took less money on purpose by signing with Miami. He made that choice, he knew he wouldn't be getting paid. Should be happy he got his ring, he comes off as petty

You basically just said the exact same thing lebron said

[JJohnson14]

I'll keep LeBron in my prayers and hope he pulls through this tough time.

[Winters]

Best in the world

[Teo9969]

Best in the world

Oh **** me in the face...we have another Heat fan now...

[Nazgul]

So, James Harden sucks?

[Irish_Sooner]

Q) Have I ever mentioned that I hate LeBron more than any professional athlete?

A) Yes I have many, many times...

Okay just wanted to make sure my opinion on this child is known and not misunderstood or underestimated.

I hope he suffers a mental breakdown(similar but 100x more severe than a golfer getting the "yips") that causes his hand-eye coordination to 100% completely abandon him and he has to retire in shame and humiliation and ends up broke within 6 months of retiring forcing him and his greedy, freakshow of a Mother to find out what their true "value" is in the real world where they can only get jobs at McDs.

Yes I hate the guy and yes I am a hater in this instance but I just cannot stand this guy. Which is obviously putting it mildly.

[SoonerBounce]

I don't know if it's the perception that you guys have of LeBron, or lack of reading comprehension, but some of the comments on this thread are just absurd! All he said was that he sacrificed money for winning with the new CBA, and that it never gets talked about. He also said that if the NBA did not have a cap, he could be making a whole lot more money...

He was not complaining about how much he makes.

He did not say he was going to play baseball.

He did not say he wants to re-negotiate his contract.

Was asked a question, then replied.

reread it. Some of his comments "I haven't had a max deal yet", etc comes off as complaining and being a ****.

He chose his salary. go play

[SoonerBounce]

Christe Eleison people...SOMEONE ASKED HIM A QUESTION AND HE ANSWERED IT.

Get the **** over it. The only people who sound petty are the one's expecting him to answer a question dishonestly to please the masses.

Dude, we all know that he was asked a question. And half of us think his answers sound petty. It's not that big of a deal. We can have differeing opinions. IMO he could have answered it a lot better while still making his point

[Winters]

Oh **** me in the face...we have another Heat fan now...

[Palmbeachsooner]

Funny OKC fans are bagging on LaBron when their hero bent the Thunder over and went elsewhere. Greedy is okay depending on who it is.

This

[Written]

Kobes 27.8mm Vs. LeBron 17.5mm

And yet Lebron is the vastly superior player.

Yes, LBJ did sacrifice. Because you know Kobe wasn't taking any pay cut to have a better team. He'd rather play in **** and complain about it.

[SoonerBounce]

Funny OKC fans are bagging on LaBron when their hero bent the Thunder over and went elsewhere. Greedy is okay depending on who it is.

this is a stupid statement and shows you don't understand why people don't like lebron

[Palmbeachsooner]

this is a stupid statement and shows you don't understand why people don't like lebron

Because "the decision" raised millions for The Boys and Girls Club?

[Sponge]

I agree pretty much with Lebron.

[SoonerBounce]

Because "the decision" raised millions for The Boys and Girls Club?

Sure

[sooner59]

Why anybody would stick up for a guy worth hundreds of millions or dollars is beyond me. I don't care either way. All pro sports players are over paid. Doctors are saving lives getting paid fractions of that.

[soonerbms]

Why anybody would stick up for a guy worth hundreds of millions or dollars is beyond me. I don't care either way. All pro sports players are over paid. Doctors are saving lives getting paid fractions of that.

I am a doctor and I think LeBron James deserves to make way more than I do. I hear too many people casually claim that athletes are overpaid. Can we please define what it means to be overpaid? In my opinion, an employee is only overpaid if the amount of money he's paid is more than the amount he earns for his employer. LeBron james makes $17,545,000 annually. I guarantee you he earns the Miami Heat more than that. If you look at how much the Heat pay LeBron compared to how much money he makes for the ownership, you'll find that he's grossly underpaid.

[sooner59]

I am a doctor and I think LeBron James deserves to make way more than I do. I hear too many people casually claim that athletes are overpaid. Can we please define what it means to be overpaid? In my opinion, an employee is only overpaid if the amount of money he's paid is more than the amount he earns for his employer. LeBron james makes $17,545,000 annually. I guarantee you he earns the Miami Heat more than that. If you look at how much the Heat pay LeBron compared to how much money he makes for the ownership, you'll find that he's grossly underpaid.

I get the whole capitalism, supply-and-demand, advertising bit. Yes compared to how much athletes bring in, they are underpaid. I'm not about to argue that. My point is that I don't like the system because it is morally bankrupt when some guy that that never attempted to get a higher education because he was born as a great athlete is handed the world on a silver platter. And across town is some no name doctor that is putting himself through hell to save someone's life and, yeah he makes decent money, but gets a small fraction of the athlete's paycheck. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying doctors should get $18M per year. I'm saying they deserve more than athletes based on what they do for humanity. That will never happen, but my drive home point is simply that the fact that athletes are given that much is ridiculous. But to your point, their boss doesn't really deserve to make that much either. It's business, just more open to the public than most businesses. It's America. It's capitalism. It's just one example that I am not a fan of.

[Boognish]

I get the whole capitalism, supply-and-demand, advertising bit. Yes compared to how much athletes bring in, they are underpaid. I'm not about to argue that. My point is that I don't like the system because it is morally bankrupt when some guy that that never attempted to get a higher education because he was born as a great athlete is handed the world on a silver platter. And across town is some no name doctor that is putting himself through hell to save someone's life and, yeah he makes decent money, but gets a small fraction of the athlete's paycheck. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying doctors should get $18M per year. I'm saying they deserve more than athletes based on what they do for humanity. That will never happen, but my drive home point is simply that the fact that athletes are given that much is ridiculous. But to your point, their boss doesn't really deserve to make that much either. It's business, just more open to the public than most businesses. It's America. It's capitalism. It's just one example that I am not a fan of.

Lebron James shouldn't be criticized because he didn't get a college degree. He wasn't handed anything on a silver platter. He just happens to be 6'9" and a great athlete, but he's become the most dominant player in the NBA because he's worked his **** off to get there. The fact that a doctor is good at being a doctor and Lebron is good at basketball is irrelevant. The world loves entertainment, and athletes are some of the greatest entertainers. There's no auto tune or whatever bull**** the music industry puts out there... these guys can't sample other people's work. At least at the highest levels of sports, the great ones outshine the ****ty ones.