LeBron James Will Make Nearly 4x More From Polymarket Than Playing for the 76ers

NBA star LeBron James will suit up for a new team in the 2026-27 season, joining the Philadelphia 76ers as the fourth team of his NBA career. James also has a new endorsement deal with Polymarket that will reward him nicely after taking a pay cut.

LeBron James Polymarket Deal

After previously promoting sports betting company DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG), James is now a member of Team Polymarket, the prediction market company.

According to FrontOfficeSports, James is not an investor in the prediction market company, and will be just an endorser. Content and social media posts from the NBA star will center around football and non-basketball content to stay within the NBA’s rules on prediction markets and betting.

The new deal with Polymarket will pay James a reported $15 million, according to FrontOfficeSports, with an undetermined length for the deal.

Putting that $15 million into perspective, this is 3.87x more than what he will make playing for the 76ers this season. Signing a two-year, $8 million deal this offseason, he will make $3,876,529 this season and $4,070,335 next season, according to Hoops Hype.

This marks the lowest yearly salary for the NBA veteran, even below his rookie season salary of $4,018,920.

James is taking a 92.6% salary cut from last year’s $52,627,153 paid from the Los Angeles Lakers, as he wants to leave money for the team to help load up a roster for another potential NBA championship before he retires.

Investments outside basketball, including stakes in professional sports teams, have helped James build a billionaire fortune. While James no longer needs a massive NBA salary, the Polymarket deal will help offset his sharply lower earnings on the court this season.

Prediction Market Deals Surge

The deal with James comes as the two main prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi fight for athlete endorsements to win over new customers.

The two prediction markets have also landed league wide exclusive deals.

The NHL has deals with both Kalshi and Polymarket, while MLB has a deal with Polymarket. Smaller leagues like MLS and UFC have also signed deals with Polymarket.

The NBA and NFL have not signed official prediction market deals yet.

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