LeBron James took a massive discount to join the Philadelphia 76ers. Apparently, the same rule does not apply to his endorsements.
James will earn $15 million per year through his new partnership with prediction-market company Polymarket, Ryan Glasspiegel and Ben Horney of Front Office Sports reported on September 16, citing sources familiar with the agreement. That is nearly four times the salary Philadelphia will pay James during the 2026-27 NBA season.
The contrast is jarring.
James is scheduled to make $3.88 million from the Sixers this season. At that figure, Polymarket is reportedly paying him approximately 3.9 times as much annually to promote its platform as Philadelphia is paying him to play basketball.
And there is another layer to the partnership: Prediction markets spent much of James’ offseason taking bets on exactly where he would play.
LeBron James’ Polymarket Deal Comes With a Sixers Twist
James announced in July that he was joining Philadelphia for the final stage of his career after considering retirement. His two-year deal was widely reported at approximately $8 million and includes a second-year player option.
The financial sacrifice was obvious from the beginning.
Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey are each scheduled to earn more than $40 million from Philadelphia this season. James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, sits much farther down the Sixers’ payroll at $3,876,529.
Now put that number beside $15 million.
Front Office Sports reported that James is an endorser rather than an investor in Polymarket. The length of the agreement remains unclear, though one source described it to FOS as an ongoing arrangement involving multiple deliverables, including social-media and other content. His promotional work will center on football rather than basketball.
A Polymarket spokesperson declined comment to FOS, while James’ representative did not immediately respond to the outlet.
James’ previous partnership with DraftKings has expired, a spokesperson for James told The Block earlier in September.
Prediction Markets Already Made LeBron James Big Business
The relationship carries a bit of irony.
Before James became one of Polymarket’s highest-profile endorsers, his own NBA future had become valuable inventory for prediction-market companies.
More than $273 million in contracts tied to James’ free-agency decision were traded across prediction platforms, according to The Block.
Polymarket also hosted a market asking whether James would play for the 76ers during the 2026-27 season. The platform’s page lists approximately $4 million in all-time volume on that question alone. It ultimately resolved at 100% after James chose Philadelphia.
James went from being one of the prediction-market industry’s biggest offseason subjects to getting paid by one of its biggest companies.
That connection has already created scrutiny. James’ initial Polymarket announcement drew criticism from some fans, while the Philadelphia Inquirer examined broader questions surrounding active athletes promoting prediction markets. The NBA currently does not prohibit players from such partnerships, the Inquirer reported.
For the Sixers, though, the numbers underline the unusual economics of adding James at age 41.
Philadelphia landed one of the most commercially valuable athletes in sports for less than $4 million this season.
One of his sponsors will reportedly pay him almost four times that amount.
76ers Star LeBron James Has a New Deal That Pays Far More Than Philadelphia