LeBron James makes NBA history only days after joining the Philadelphia 76ers!
LeBron James made history just days after signing with the Philadelphia 76ers, even before playing a game for his new team in the NBA.
The 41-year-old left the Los Angeles Lakers in June after eight years but was quick to say he’s not retiring anytime soon. Instead, he wants to play a 24th season and had many teams interested in signing him.
ESPN reported that LeBron’s longtime agent, Rich Paul, talked to 27 different teams, including LeBron’s old teams—the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat—and rivals like the Golden State Warriors. In the end, LeBron chose the 76ers and agreed to a big pay cut, reportedly $8 million less over two years.
LeBron is chasing his fifth NBA championship, and his move has already created a lot of excitement, especially with jersey sales. Fanatics says LeBron broke a record for the most jersey sales in 48 hours by a player joining a new team, beating LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s record. Ohtani had previously outsold soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when he switched teams in December 2023.
While exact numbers haven’t been shared, LeBron’s first edition No. 23 jersey sold out quickly on the Fanatics website. Reports say he’s sold more merch in his first week with the 76ers than he did when he joined the Lakers in 2018. Plus, eight of the top 10 best-selling products on Fanatics across all sports are LeBron-related.
Mitchell & Ness, part of Fanatics, didn’t share sales numbers but said LeBron’s gear launch was one of their strongest single-day sales, even beating big events like the FIFA World Cup and MLB All-Star games.
LeBron’s star power is huge, and he’s still the biggest name in the NBA. But unlike many athletes, he won’t get a cut of the merchandise sales. For example, Lionel Messi made sure to get a share of merch profits when he joined Inter Miami through deals with Adidas and Apple TV. LeBron doesn’t have a deal like that in the NBA.
Instead, jersey and merch money goes into the league’s revenue-sharing system, which players usually get about half of. LeBron’s contract with the 76ers is basically a “veteran’s minimum” deal for players with over 10 years in the league, meaning he took one of the biggest pay cuts in NBA history.
But for LeBron, this move isn’t about the money—it’s about happiness and chasing more glory. He’s the only billionaire in the NBA and has a very profitable endorsement deal with Nike.