A lot of heads turned as soon as news hit that LeBron James agreed to a two-year extension with the Los Angeles Lakers worth a whopping $97.1 million. That's a whole lot of money, even for LeBron's standards.

If you ask Stephen A Smith, however, the ESPN broadcaster firmly believes that the Lakers actually got LeBron for cheap. According to Stephen A, James deserves much more than just (almost) $50 million per season (h/t ClutchPoints on Twitter):

“He's grossly underpaid,” Smith said. “… $97 million over the next two years is a bargain. He is box office. He just finished averaging 30 a game. He is still a sensational basketball player. … He is underpaid. He deserves more money.”

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Regardless of his opinion, Stephen A Smith has a way of being compelling because of the way he argues his point. This is what has made him one of the most renowned sports broadcasters in the industry today.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Ot0D0tHM49p8zV7PPjmUp?si=8d77eb1949ba4e25

Be that as it may, it does seem that he has a valid point here. From an outsider's perspective, it would be easy to say that no man deserves (close to) $50 million a year to play basketball. However, if you take into consideration what Smith is saying about LeBron's legacy and also what he brings to the table for the Lakers from a financial standpoint, it's hard to dispute the notion that this is indeed a sound investment for LA.

For his part, though, it's not as if LeBron James got robbed here. There's really no need to feel sorry for this man.