Polymarket will be paying NBA player LeBron James an annual $15 million for his endorsement, Front Office Sports (FOS) has learned from unnamed sources. Only some of the terms of the deal have been disclosed (e.g., the requirement to post to social media about Polymarket). Its duration is not public.
By comparison, though, the NBA team that has just signed James, the Philadelphia 76ers, will be paying him $8 million over two years, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who learned it in July from Klutch Sports Group and Klutch CEO and Game Over show host Rich Paul.
At least for the moment, James appears to have no equity stake in Polymarket, nor, apparently, do any of his fellow NBA players. But each of at least four NBA players – Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Kyle Kuzma (Milwaukee Bucks), Ajay Mitchell (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Miami Heat) – holds a stake in Polymarket’s rival, Kalshi. And Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets) holds an indirect stake in it.
Per the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (p. 124), any direct or indirect ownership interest a player holds in a gaming company must be passive: “no management, governance, voting, or executive role or other operational rights or roles.” Furthermore, if the company deals in NBA-related bets, the stake must amount to less than 1 percent; if the gaming company does not deal in such bets, the stake must amount to less than 50 percent.
James is taking a tremendous cut in salary to continue playing in the NBA. For the 2025/26 season alone the Los Angeles Lakers paid him $52.6 million. At the same time, next season will not be the first time James earns more off the court than on it. In fact, according to Sportico, he’s been earning more off for the entirety of his professional career – since he was drafted, in 2003, by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
His entry into Polymarket follows a departure from DraftKings. An unnamed spokesman toldThe Block earlier this month that James’s deal with DraftKings had expired and that James’s work with Polymarket would focus on football, not basketball. FOSreceived confirmation of the deal expiration from an unnamed source. The terms of that former deal have never been disclosed.
James has since posted a “Step inside Polymarket HQ” video to his account on X.
