LeBron James reportedly earning nearly four times his 76ers salary from Polymarket

LeBron James took a massive pay cut to join the 76ers. Fortunately, he found a side hustle.

James will reportedly earn $15 million per year through his endorsement agreement with prediction-market platform Polymarket, according to Ryan Glasspiegel and Ben Horney of Front Office Sports.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, will pay James approximately $3.9 million this season as part of his two-year, $8 million contract.

So, yes, James will make nearly four times as much talking about predictions as he will playing basketball.

James is not an investor in Polymarket, per the report. He is strictly an endorser under an agreement described as an “ongoing engagement” involving social-media posts and other content. The exact length of the deal remains unclear.

Interestingly, James will promote football markets rather than basketball. That distinction presumably keeps him away from any uncomfortable questions involving games in which he participates.

Derek Jeter and Eli Manning appeared with James in Polymarket’s commercial and reportedly have smaller endorsement agreements. Spike Lee, Reggie Bush and Alexandra Daddario also appeared, although some participants may have received only a one-time payment.

The prediction-market industry continues to face legal challenges over whether its sports-related contracts should be regulated federally or treated like traditional sports betting at the state level.

James earned $52.6 million from the Lakers last season before accepting a bargain contract to pursue another championship with Philadelphia.

Once upon a time, endorsement income supplemented an athlete’s salary. In LeBron’s case, his NBA salary is now supplementing the endorsement.