Back in 2003, LeBron James signed his first deal with Nike, a 5-year, $87,000,000 contract. Even before he made his NBA debut, James was already a millionaire at the of 18. The then Cleveland Cavaliers superstar earned less than $5 million a year via his first contract, which meant that the Nike deal paid him substantially more. Regardless, James decided to buy a large estate just outside his hometown of Akron. The reason was that the then-teenager wanted a place to play flag football with his friends. After tearing the estate down and building a mansion, James ended up building a football field as well, according to Brian Windhorst’s book, LeBron James Inc: The Making of a Billion Dollar Athlete.
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Considering the fact that James has a reputation for being a bit stingy with his spending, this might come as a surprise. LeBron is said to be careful with his money, which might be a big reason why he has managed to build such a huge empire. Regardless, despite such an instinct, James did not hesitate to buy the huge estate and use it as a football field.
LeBron James built a 100-yard football field in Akron after receiving a Nike paycheck
According to Brian Windhorst’s LeBron James Inc., the then-young James had only received his signing bonus from the Cavaliers. This was obviously in addition to the money he got from the 5-year Nike deal.
This proved enough to help him buy a big estate just outside Akron for about $1,000,000. James built a giant mansion on the property in addition to a football field:
“Shortly after landing his Nike deal and getting his signing bonus, LeBron bought a large estate just outside Akron for about $1 million. He wanted a place where he could have a 100-yard football field to play flag football with friends. He got it, even if he would later tear down the house and rebuild a giant mansion in its place. But in addition to that, LeBron rented an apartment in Cleveland in an upscale building for nights when he didn’t want to drive forty-five minutes back home and where he could spend time on game days. He ended up sharing the same hallway as Wes Wesley, who continued to spend time in Cleveland to be with Dajuan Wagner.”
There have been multiple examples over the years of how James might not be the biggest spender in the NBA. That has helped him amass a huge net worth and makes him well-deserving of the occasional treats that he affords to himself.
LeBron is often accused of being penny-pinching
James has often been said to be miserly on social media. Back in 2022, Kevin Love revealed that James is always reluctant to use phone data as he does not want to spend money.
LeBron himself had revealed that it was his uncle, due to whom he learned the value of money as a kid. Speaking on Maverick Carter’s Kneading Dough podcast, James claimed his uncle had taught him to always keep his money sacred and not spend too much.
While James might have ended up spending a lot for a football field, he is generally careful with his money and rarely overspends on purchases. Of course, considering the wealth he has now amassed, there is no reason why he cannot afford to, every once in a while.
