That's probably an exaggerated rumor. There might be some clause that say that it will increase. But double? Is Nike really going to give him an extra $90 million for playing in NY. A big market isn't going to make that big a difference. Beside, he'd still need to wait two years to sign with a team other than Cleveland (he'll be a restricted FA next year), and neither the NY, LA, or Chicago teams have the cap space to sign him to a max contract yet. I guess they could dump their guys for nothing, but since they can't even talk to Lebron's agent until next year, it's a pretty big risk all the way around. Much better for these guys to collect their paycheck now, and opt out or force a trade if things don't work out later.
Update http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2513416 Looks like he has agreed to sign and is staying. I didn't expect anything else.
according to the ticker on espn, lebron's deal is 4 yrs/60M and he has the option to be an unrestricted FA after 3 years. lebron was already stumbling through his vows, now he's checking out bridesmaids during the kiss. cleveland has to be a little more nervous now.
Course this is only one year less than a normal max contract. All these recent max guys (including Yao) are sporting 5 year deals with an opt out after 4 years. Still, Lebron's being pretty shrewd about it. He needs the money less than most since he's already got a $90 million shoe deal. So giving up that extra year is well worth it for the flexibility that it provides. Nervous or not, Cleveland is still guaranteed 7 years of the Lebron era. That's much more than most teams get out of their best player (and a potentially transcendent one to boot). Also it's worth noting that Lebron can opt out the same summer that Mcgrady's deal expires. I'm just saying.
Well, they're saying that with the new NBA cap coming up in a few years, he'll perhaps be able to sign a max of perhaps 6 years and more money (150 million?). So that's a smart move on his part if he's looking to cash in later. But if I was him, I'd take the extra 20 million and the extra year on the contract. Who knows what will happen between now and then, he can be injured.
After the way his teammates performed in the playoffs, can you blame Lebron for signing that shortened deal? Ilgauskas is on the wrong side of 30 with a history of leg problems, their free agent signings last year were disappointing, and Cleveland doesn't exactly have a history of drafting well.
