We have to go back to his arrival in Miami to find any trace of a contract where LeBron James is not making the maximum salary. Back in 2010, he agreed to make a financial sacrifice to allow Pat Riley to also sign Chris Bosh. Fourteen years later, the Lakers superstar agreed to make less than the maximum for his new two-year extension.
So, ESPN reveals that he has signed a two-year, $101.3 million contract. That's $2.7 million less than the maximum he could have been paid. This contract is again a 1+1 deal, and LeBron James will be eligible to be a free agent again in a year. In addition, this contract includes an “anti-transfer” clause.
Candidates for the title must make choices
This small financial sacrifice allows the Lakers to stay under the “second apron” bar, set at $190 million. It should be remembered that this second level of “luxury tax” is very restrictive since it prevents the use of a “mid-level exception”to position itself on a player released by a “buy-out” and even to block the exchange of Draft choices.
Like the Nuggets and Warriors, the Lakers maneuvered this summer to avoid reaching that level. But president Rob Pelinka warns that he is always looking to improve the roster. Even though the Lakers have not yet signed any players in free agency and seem to be mostly leaving with the same group of players.
“We are now in the world of the 'second apron',” he regrets. “We’ve seen teams in contention for the title lose players. That’s a result of this ‘second apron’ world we live in. Does it make our job harder? Yes. Does it make good trades impossible? No. So we’re going to continue to look to improve our squad.”
Mid-level exception : envelope of approximately $13 million that is available each year to recruit all NBA franchises that do not pay luxury tax. They can use it on one or more players. A team that must pay the luxury tax only has $5.2 million. Since 2023/24, if a team significantly exceeds the high bar of the salary cap (by more than $17.5 million), it loses its “mid-level exception”.
