Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is entering his Year 20 in the NBA, and throughout that span, the league has seen a massive growth in coverage and popularity.
The league has grown so big that LeBron's salary for 2022-23 ($44.4 million) is higher than the whole salary cap of the NBA (43.8 million) back in 2004-05–his second season in the pros, via Boardroom.
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Now that is certainly wild stuff right there.
For what it's worth, the current NBA salary cap for 2022-23 is at $123.655 million, which is almost triple from where it was before 19 years ago.
The massive growth, however, is a testament to the NBA's incredible efforts to make the game more global and popular among other major sports leagues in the US. TV deals alone are bringing in billions to the NBA, so it's no surprise why players are also getting paid handsomely.
As for LeBron James, the fact that he remains one of the highest-paid players in the league going into his age-38 season speaks volumes of his longevity and transcendent talent. The Lakers forward is still one of the best players in the NBA, and while he's no longer the same athletic threat he used to be, he is still more than capable of leading a title contender.
It's unlikely we'll see another player with the same longevity and impact as LeBron. And 20 years from now, it's doubtful any player today can actually get paid more than the salary cap now.
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