The debate surrounding the topic of LeBron James and Michael Jordan who is the NBA’s GOAT will forever be a never-ending story. James is superior in statistics, while Jordan has won more NBA championships.

However, there is one point where James is far ahead of Jordan, which is the amount of money he has earned throughout his NBA career. With a new contract worth $104 million/2 years just signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, James continues to consolidate his position as the highest paid player in the NBA.

Join Sporting News to learn about the income of Jordan and James in the NBA.

LeBron James’s income

James is the highest paid NBA player of all time. According to Spotrac.com, throughout his career, he has earned $479,466,457.

Recently, James signed a new 2-year contract with the Lakers. This contract helps him earn at least 49,987,718 million USD per year. If including the 2 years of the new contract, James will pocket a total of 583,440,910 USD from his NBA salary.

In 21 seasons, James won 4 NBA championship titles, 4 MVP titles and was honored in 20 consecutive All-Star games.

Michael Jordan’s income

Jordan’s income is nothing compared to James’s, because of the difference between the two eras.

According to Spotrac.com, Jordan has earned $93,877,500 during his NBA career. In 14/16 seasons, Jordan only pocketed about 4 million USD. The exceptions are 1995/96 and 1996/97 when the legendary Chicago Bulls earned $30,140,000 and $33,140,000 respectively before announcing his retirement to try baseball.

Jordan has been on the All-Star team 14 times, won the NBA championship 6 times and won the MVP title 5 times. Even more special, he rose to the top position in all 6 times he set foot in the final – an unprecedented record.

If Jordan played in the modern NBA — especially after the league’s 2016 television deal sent salaries skyrocketing — he would have rivaled LeBron’s career earnings. However, that is not a problem Jordan is too concerned about, because advertising contracts with Nike under the Jordan brand have helped him become one of the richest players in the world.

Michael Jordan’s net worth

According to Forbes, Jordan has a net worth of $3.2 billion . The majority of Jordan’s income comes from commercial contracts with Nike, Hanes and Gatorade. In the past, Jordan spent about 2.4 billion USD to buy back a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets. But after a few years, the basketball legend sold the team and received about 3 billion USD.

Jordan was ranked as the 1,017th richest person in the world as of July 3. Although he did not earn too much money while playing in the NBA, Jordan’s post-retirement income is still growing very quickly.

LeBron James net worth

James made more money than Jordan during his NBA playing days, but the Lakers star still ranks behind his predecessor in terms of net worth. According to Forbes, James has a net worth of $1.2 billion . That makes him the richest player while still playing.

James has extremely high compensation in the NBA. However, compared to outside income, Jordan is still better. James earned about 900 million USD from commercial contracts with Pepsi and Nike. He also holds shares in certain companies and products, such as Beats by Dre and Fenway Sports Group.

James is ranked as the 2,741st richest person in the world as of July 3. It is unclear whether the above data includes the new contract signed between James and the Lakers worth $104 million, but with his reputation and stature, James’s wealth will continue to increase year by year.