Sports

LeBron James still uses the free version of Spotify

by Tyler Munro

Before he had ever laced up in an NBA game, superstar LeBron James had reportedly signed to more than $100 million in endorsements, and in the nearly 13 years since he signed his first $90 million Nike contract, those numbers have only risen; two years ago, he netted a cool $30 million thanks to his early investment in Beats by Dre.

Now 31, James makes an estimated $42 million annually off endorsements alone, while his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers pays him upwards of $22 million for the season. Ignoring incentives, Lebron’s 13-year NBA career has paid him more than $171 million.

All of this is to say that LeBron James is very, very rich, which is important when considering this next bit of information: He still uses the free version of Spotify.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who has made a career out of following James, first in high school and later through Cleveland and Miami, said that he noticed LeBron’s post-game stream was interrupted by an advertisement.

“He’s sitting in there and there’s hard-core hip-hop on… and all of a sudden a commercial will come on for Cleveland State’s graduate studies program, or something,” said Windhorst in an episode of his Hey, Windy podcast.

Tony Cartagena, Windhorst’s co-host and a beat reporter for the Cavs, went onto joke that LeBron still shares a Netflix account with his former high school teammate Romeo Travis. At least we think it’s a joke?

In an era where former sports starts are squandering their million dollar chequebooks into borderline poverty post retirement, there’s a lot to be said for frugality. But, dude: Spotify Premium costs less than $10 a month.

[h/t Factory of Sadness]