James has opted out of the final season of his contract with the world champion Cavaliers and will become a free agent on Friday, ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported Tuesday night, citing James’ agent Rich Paul.
MORE: Classic photos of LeBron James
The move will help James, 31, maximize his pay when the NBA’s salary cap balloons to about $94 million this offseason.
Broussard broke down the numbers on Twitter:
James was scheduled to make $24 million under a player option for the 2016-17 season.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported last week that even though James has said he will re-sign with the Cavs, he would be giving up $3 million if he were to opt out, then sign another one-year contract with a player option, as has become his custom. According to Windhorst, James would make $27.5 million next season under that scenario.
