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LeBron James celebrated his 40th birthday on Monday and continues to amaze fans by defying the aging process on the basketball court. He is currently averaging 23.5 points per game on an impressive 50% shooting percentage. This surpasses the previous high-scoring record for a player in their 40s, which was held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with an average of 14.6 points during the 1987-88 season.

James’ off-court game is even stronger, with a projected $134 million in earnings this season from his salary and endorsements. The tally will push his career earnings north of $1.5 billion since he was drafted. It includes an estimated $505 million in playing salary—net of escrow deductions—and more than $1 billion from endorsements, merchandise, licensing and his media business.

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James skipped college to enter the NBA in 2003—the NBA banned drafting high school players two years later. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the lottery to select James and signed him to the pre-determined deal for the top pick of $18.8 million over four years. His next four-year deal was worth $60 million, but James declined his player option in Year 4 and moved to South Beach with his infamous “Decision.”

His playing salary continued to climb as the salary cap soared. But switching home cities from Cleveland to Miami and back to Cleveland and then to Los Angeles typically kept James from earning the league’s top salary, as the NBA CBA incentives players to re-sign with their current teams to maximum earnings, The 2016-17 season was the only season James topped the NBA’s salary charts, with Stephen Curry the leader the past eight years.

James has made twice as much off the court as he has from his player salaries. He entered the NBA armed with endorsement deals from Nike, Coca-Cola and Upper Deck. James’ first Nike deal was worth more than $100 million, including bonuses and royalties, over seven years. He signed two renewals with Nike since that initial pact. The latest was signed in late 2015 and is a lifetime deal that his longtime business manager Maverick Cater said will pay out at least $1 billion.

The four-time MVP maintains a deep endorsement portfolio with more than a dozen brands, including AT&T, Crypto.com, DraftKings, GMC and Taco Bell.

James was the NBA’s top earner, including salaries and endorsements, for 11 straight years before this season, when Curry topped him after a bump tied to his long-term Under Armour contract extension. Kobe Bryant in 2012-13 was the last player to finish ahead of LeBron before Curry.

Beyond his endorsement cash haul, James has also built equity in a myriad of businesses over the past two decades. In 2011, he partnered with Fenway Sports Group and received a small minority stake in FSG-owned soccer club Liverpool in exchange for certain marketing rights. The value of the club has grown from roughly $550 million in 2011 to more than $5 billion today. Four years ago, James converted his Liverpool equity into a stake in FSG, which also includes the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Penguins.

James’ most valuable asset is SpringHill Company, which includes production company SpringHill Entertainment, media platform Uninterrupted and brand consultancy Robot. In 2021, SpringHill sold a minority stake to a consortium led by RedBird Capital Partners that valued the company at $725 million. Last month, SpringHill announced a merger of equals with Fulwell 73.

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