LeBron James underpaid? (Photo credit: Keith Allison)  LeBron James spent two years digging out of the hole he put himself in with his ill-fated “Decision” TV special and “Not two, not three, not four” summer 2010 Miami pep rally where James predicted eight championships for the Heat. James had a historic 2012 when he led the Heat to the NBA title and the U.S. men’s Olympic team to the gold medal in London. He was awarded the MVP award for both the regular season and the NBA Finals. His jersey was the NBA’s best seller and he won Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Year” award. James was rebounding in the court of public opinion.  But for every two steps forward James and his redemption take, he moves one step back. Friday was one of those days. Speaking to reporters in Indianapolis before the Heat squared off against the Indiana Pacers, James said: “I’ve not had a max contract yet, it’s a story that’s been untold. I don’t get (credit) for it.” He continued to discuss the NBA’s salary structure.  “It doesn’t matter to me, being the highest-paid guy in the league,” James said. “What I do on the floor shows my value. At the end of the day, I don’t think my value of what I do on the floor can be compensated anyway because of the CBA if you want this truth. If this was baseball, I’d be up there.”  via Miami Heat: LeBron James is just the NBA’s 13th highest-paid player. – Sun Sentinel.  LeBron-haters quickly lashed out at their favorite target after James’ remarks. They cited the absurdity of someone implying they were underpaid at $17.6 million a year for playing a game. They pointed to his $40 million in endorsement income from corporate giants Nike, Coca-Cola, Samsung and McDonald’s, as well as his No. 4 position last year on the world’s highest-paid athletes.  But James, of course, is right on all accounts. He has not had a maximum length deal in the NBA, although it is by his own choice. James has never been the highest paid player in the league and his $17.6 million salary ranks No. 13 this year, despite his clear stature as the best player in the world. The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement limits individual player salaries to 35% of the cap in the first year for 10-year veterans, which equates to $19.1 million this season. It is $16.4 million (30% of the cap) for 7-year veterans, which James was when he left the Cavs.  If basketball operated with a real free-market system, James would likely command at least $40-50 million a year. Baseball operates without any salary restrictions and there are 20 current players with contracts that average at least $20 million a year. Alex Rodriguez tops the list with a deal that averages $27.5 million annually.  James has been invaluable to the Heat and the financial benefits to the team will greatly outweigh his current 6-year, $110 million Heat contract. The team’s revenue were $124 million in the season before James arrived. They averaged $154 million the past two seasons with James, as the team made the NBA finals both years. Forbes valued the Heat at $364 million before James and $625 million this month in our annual look at the business of the NBA. The Heat are also in line for a new blockbuster local TV contract that will quadruple their current deal to as much as $100 million a year.  James, arguably, is also underpaid by his biggest sponsor Nike. The Swoosh pays James an estimated $15 million a year, including royalties under his current deal. Nike sold $100 million (wholesale) of James’ signature sneakers in the U.S. in 2012, according to SportsOneSource. Nike likely sold a similar amount of James’ kicks outside the U.S. James also drives sales of apparel and other non-basketball shoe items for Nike. SportsOneSource analyst Matt Powell says most of today’s NBA players do not provide the return on investment in terms of their footwear, but that athletes like James are “more than just shoe endorsers and act as the face of the brand.”  James will make nearly $60 million this year from the Heat and his sponsors. And yes, he is underpaid.  Special Report: The Business of Basketball  You can follow me on Twitter or subscribe to my Facebook profile. Read my Forbes blog here.
The value of the Miami Heat has increased $260 million since LeBron arrived and Nike sells more than $200 million of his shoes each year.