LeBron James And The Lakers Agreed To A $97.1 Million Max Contract Extension

LeBron James isn’t going anywhere. According to reports by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic, James and the Los Angeles Lakers came to terms on a 2-year max contract extension that is slated to keep him in the purple and gold through potentially the 2024-25 campaign.

The pair report that James will get a deal worth $97.1 million, while Wojnarowski brings word that the second year of James’ deal includes a player option. James was previously slated to enter this year with one year left on his deal before he had the opportunity to hit unrestricted free agency.

Wojnarowski added another fun wrinkle: James has the potential to make more money on this deal. If the NBA’s salary cap substantially increases in the lead-up to the 2023-23 campaign, James’ deal apparently increases to $111 million.

Despite the fact that the Lakers missed out on the postseason this past year, James was still ultra productive, even without mentioning that he turned 37 last year. James averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 37.2 minutes per game, but only appeared in 56 games due to a short bout with COVID and injuries. There are still plenty of questions about what Los Angeles will look like next year, but at the very least, they’ll know they are going into battle with one of the greatest players of all time on their roster.