LeBron James told in a Podcast interview on August 18 about his plans of owning an NBA team of his own. The basketball superstar recently signed a contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The "Open Run" podcast interviewed LeBron James and asked him about his future plans. He recently extended a three year contract with the Cavaliers for $100 million.
James' aspiration to own an NBA team is probably influenced by Michael Jordan, probably the NBA's greatest basketball player. After retiring from the NBA, he is now the proud owner of the Charlotte Hornets. However, James said that he would rather delegate the day to day operation of such team to others. He did express his admiration for Jordan's business acumen, according to ESPN.
NBA observers believe that LeBron in theory has the financial capacity to buy a team of his own. They took into account that NBA teams are quite expensive these days. Former Microsoft head Steve Ballmer has to spend at least $2 billion in acquiring the Los Angeles Clippers.
The total income earned by James from his basketball career including the recent $100 million contract from the Cavaliers now stands at more than $270 million. His highest pay however, comes from his Nike contract which has an estimated value of at least $1 billion. Endorsements from commercials could reach as much as $50 million a year.
James said in an earlier interview that Michael Jordan is the basketball player he wants to emulate. While still behind Jordan in terms of MVP award, James still has a long NBA career that could make him catch up or even surpass Jordan. It seems that both men would soon meet as equals in the near future. For now, LeBron James still has few more years to realize the dream of owning an NBA team someday.
