Lebron James is arguably the best player in the world but his pay doesn’t show it.  He’s currently earning $17.5 million for the year which is tied for 13th in the NBA.  According to him the “sacrifice” he’s made to play with the Miami Heat is the story untold.  Read more after the jump.

Shay Marie

In an interview with ESPN James stated:

“I have not had a full max deal yet in my career — that’s a story untold,” James said.

“I don’t get (the credit) for it. That doesn’t matter to me; playing the game is what matters to me. Financially, I’ll sacrifice for the team. It shows for some of the top guys, it isn’t all about money. That’s the genuine side of this, it’s about winning. I understand that.”

So what’s Lebron James really worth?  Well when asked what it would take for him to play overseas during the lockout, he estimated around $50 million.  He also had some other thoughts.

“What I do on the floor shows my value. At the end of the day, I don’t think my value on the floor can really be compensated for, anyways, because of the (collective bargaining agreement),” James said Friday

“If you want the truth. If this was baseball, it’d be up, I mean way up there.”

Baseball doesn’t have a salary cap and some players are earning in the nine figure range so yes he’s right, his salary would be way up there.  What Lebron James is forgetting is that no one is crying a sad song for him for multiple reasons.  Aside from the fact that he’s earning an estimated $40 million a year from endorsements and sponsorships, thanks to deals with Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, State Farm and Samsung.  There’s also the fact that Lebron CHOSE to go to the Miami Heat and form a super team with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.  There’s no team in the league that wouldn’t give him a max contract so basically it was his call.  I do understand where he’s coming from he just has to be careful when choosing his words.