James annual salary is 48.72 million US dollars. How much can he get? You may not believe it if you say it!

In today's NBA league, superstars often sign maximum salary contracts of hundreds of millions of yuan, and the annual salary of James, Durant, Curry and others often makes fans envious. You should know that the total salary of Jordan, the "God of Basketball" in his career, is only $93 million. Now, he may not even be able to sign an ordinary All-Star. You can imagine how happy the players are today. However, these seemingly astronomical salaries are only a small part of the players' pockets.

Take James as an example. His annual salary soared to $48.72 million in the 2024-25 season, ranking among the top in the league. However, what this basketball superstar can actually get is far less than what is on the books, and there is a complex salary composition hidden behind it.

First, the US tax policy is the "culprit" for the shrinking of players' salaries. The federal tax can reach up to 37%, while James' Lakers are located in California, with a state tax of up to 13.3%. These two taxes directly "swallowed" nearly half of his annual salary. Not only that, the NBA also has a third-party custody fee for players, which is the "pension" for players, aiming to ensure that players use their salaries reasonably and prevent financial risks. Although this fee will be returned after retirement, it also accounts for 10% of the annual salary.

In addition, broker commissions and medical insurance fees also account for a certain proportion of players' salaries. Adding up these various expenses, James's final salary is likely to be just over $20 million, less than half of his contract salary.

Not only James, no player in the league can escape the "cannibalization" of high taxes and various expenses. For players, paying taxes in accordance with the law is an obligation that must be fulfilled, otherwise they will face serious legal consequences. However, this also made many players realize that it is difficult to achieve true financial freedom and wealth accumulation based on salary on the court alone. Therefore, many players began to turn their attention to the business field and actively explore sources of income outside the court.

Like James, he successfully created a diversified income structure by establishing his own media companies, investing in business projects, etc., and his business empire's territory has continued to expand, bringing him considerable returns. It is reported that James has over the field revenue in the past year exceeds $100 million, and his personal assets reach $1.8 billion, making him the richest among active NBA players.

From this perspective, high salary for NBA players is not the same as high income. Expenditures in various aspects such as taxes, brokerage fees, and medical insurance have greatly reduced the actual income of players. This also reminds the majority of fans that when envying the huge annual salary of players, they should also see the financial pressure and challenges they face behind them