Sports

James says his worth to Heat ‘can’t really be compensated for’

Not only does LeBron James believes he’s way underpaid, but the Miami Heat superstar thinks he has not gotten enough credit for accepting a non-max contract.

James told ESPN on Friday
that if he was playing baseball, his contract would be “way up there.”

“What I do on the floor shows my value,” said James, who led the Heat to the NBA title last year. “At the end of the day, I don’t think my value on the floor can’t really be compensated for anyways because of the (collective bargaining agreement).”

There’s no salary cap in Major League Baseball, while there is one in the NBA, including luxury taxes. James, who did take a pay cut to sign with the Heat in 2010, makes $17.5 million this season, tied for the 13th-highest total in the NBA, according to ESPN. Kobe Bryant is the most well paid at $27.8 million.

“I have not had a full max deal yet in my career — that’s a story untold,” James said. “I don’t get (the credit) for it. That doesn’t matter to me, playing the game is what matters to me. Financially, I’ll sacrifice for the team. It shows for some of the top guys, it isn’t all about money. That’s the genuine side of this, it’s about winning. I understand that.”

If James and Dwyane Wade were signed to max deals, they would make just under $20 million, the CBA stipulates. The Heat would have been hit with $8 million more in luxury taxes this year. Wade is making $17.1 million this season and Chris Bosh, the third cog in the big three, is earning the same as James at $17.5M.

“I think teams understand that you need three guys to do big things; the big three thing is pretty cool if you can get it,” James said. “To keep teams like this together you may have to take even less because of the new CBA. I guess we’ll find out.”

James does make an additional $40 million per year in endorsements, Forbes estimated recently. James has deals with blue-chip companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, State Farm and Samsung.