LeBron James just signed a massive new extension for the Lakers, but Skip Bayless is unhappy he didn’t take inspiration from Tom Brady and take a discount.
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LeBron’s extension with the Lakers runs for two years and includes a player option for the 2024-25 season. The deal is worth $97.1 million.
The player option gives LeBron the chance to sign with a different team when his oldest son Bronny will be a rookie in the league. LeBron’s made it very clear he wants to play with his son, and this extension gives him the perfect opportunity to do so.
Brady signed a two-year, $50 million contract in 2020 with the Buccaneers, but after restructuring his contract to give the Buccaneers more leeway, he’ll only be making $15 million in 2022.
The two-year, $97.1M extension, which includes a 15 percent trade kicker, makes LeBron James the highest earning player in NBA history with $532M in guaranteed money. He surpasses Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant. pic.twitter.com/UUHMspiKZp
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 17, 2022
Skip Bayless hates that LeBron James isn’t taking inspiration from Tom Brady
Brady’s career has been defined by him taking paycuts. The $250 million net worth man has surprisingly been one of the most underpaid players in the league despite being the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
While quarterbacks around him signed massive deals, Brady stayed pat. He knew making more money wouldn’t do his team any good, and he routinely gave his team the leverage they needed to sign better players and build a better overall team.
Consider this, Brady’s cap hit in 2022 was $11.8 million. That’s lower than guys like Matt Ryan, Sam Darnold, Carson Wentz, and Jared Goff.
In New England, Brady reportedly left somewhere between $60-$100 million on the table to help make his team better. He took a similar pay cut with Tampa Bay too. He signed a two-year, $50 million deal in 2020 with the Bucs, and after winning a Super Bowl, he could have leveraged a bigger deal.
Skip Bayless was furious that LeBron didn’t consider making similar sacrifices for his team. LeBron is a billionaire now, and Skip believes that he was looking after himself more than his team.
“LeBron will make $200million more than Brady. . .in 2 fewer seasons,” the FS1 host said. “That’s [because] Brady took a winner’s discount to make his team better. So did Tim Duncan his last 4 yrs: 10 mil, 10 mil, 10 mil, 6 mil. Billionaire Bron: almost 50 mil in Yr 20 & 21! Lakers: no shot. Congrats, King.”
LeBron will make $200 million more than Brady … in 2 fewer seasons! That’s bc Brady took a winner’s discount to make his team better. So did Tim Duncan his last 4 yrs: 10 mil, 10 mil, 10 mil, 6 mil. Billionaire Bron: almost 50 mil in Yr 20 & 21! Lakers: no shot. Congrats, King
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) August 19, 2022
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