LeBron James is taking a massive pay cut in Philadelphia, and that alone is enough to make the numbers feel surreal. The 41-year-old signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the 76ers, which is the veteran minimum for a player with his experience. He is set to make about $3.88 million in 2026-27, a steep drop from the $52.6 million he earned with the Lakers last season.
James made it clear he is not chasing the biggest check. “I'm not going for money,” James wrote on X.
“I'm not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point?
I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work.
I still want to grind.”
He can afford to take the discount. But the size of that deal creates a striking comparison with college football’s NIL economy: at least eight players are projected to make more than James this season, according to On3’s NIL 100 rankings.
The top of that list belongs to Miami quarterback Darian Mensah, who is projected at $6.5 million. That makes him the highest-paid quarterback in the sport.
The San Luis Obispo native is already on his third school in three years, and he arrives in Coral Gables after a huge season at Duke, where he threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 34 touchdowns and helped the Blue Devils win an ACC title. His Miami money alone tops more than half of what James will make over two full years in Philadelphia.
Right behind him is Oregon quarterback Dante Moore at $5 million. The Detroit native chose to return to Eugene instead of entering the draft, and he’s coming off a season in which he threw 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while leading the Ducks to a 13-2 record. He heads into the fall as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner.
Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith also checks in at $5 million. The junior from Hollywood, Florida is the highest-paid wide receiver in college football history, and he reportedly passed on more than $10 million to stay in Columbus for 2026.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is in the same range at $5 million. The former Division II standout from Ferris State powered the Rebels to a 13-1 record and a College Football Playoff semifinal in his first year in Oxford. He signed a new deal with Ole Miss in January, then won a court injunction in February that gave him a sixth year of eligibility after the NCAA denied his waiver twice.
LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt rounds out the top five at $4.5 million. A foot injury ended his 2025 season early at Arizona State, and he transferred to Baton Rouge in January to play for new head coach Lane Kiffin. Leavitt has never taken a snap in the SEC, but he still projects to out-earn the NBA’s all-time leading scorer by about $600,000 this season.
There are three more players at $4 million, which still edges James’ $3.88 million salary. Among them is quarterback Josh Hoover, who moved from TCU to defending national champion Indiana and brings nearly 10,000 career passing yards with him.
Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. is also in that group as one of the top returning passers on the West Coast. Offensive tackle Jordan Seaton left Colorado for LSU and could be the first lineman selected in the 2027 NFL Draft.
None of this changes the fact that James has already made more than $581 million in NBA salary over 23 seasons. His bank account is fine.
What the numbers do show is how quickly NIL has exploded. Five years ago, college players could not earn a dollar from their name. Now a quarterback who has not played a down for his new school can make more in one season than LeBron James.
In Other News...
Indiana Lands 10 Preseason All-Big Ten Honors And National Respect
The preseason respect keeps piling up for Indiana, and The Athletics 2026 All-Big Ten teams offered another reminder of how far the rosters profile has risen. The Hoosiers landed 10 selections overall, third-most in the conference behind only Ohio State and Oregon, with first-team nods for Charlie Becker, Carter Smith, Tyrique Tucker, Rolijah Hardy, Isaiah Jones and Nico Radicic.
For a program trying to turn last seasons momentum into something lasting, that spread of recognition matters as much as any one headline name. Beckers emergence at receiver, Smiths return up front, the defensive punch from Tucker, Hardy and Jones, and Radicics reliability all point to a team that is drawing national notice before a snap is played, even if the bigger question is how all of those pieces fit once the games start counting again. [Read more 🡒]
Indianas Defensive Transfer Haul Shows The Hoosiers New Standard
Indianas recent transfer haul says plenty about how the program is being built now, especially on defense. Preston Zachman arrives from Wisconsin with a chance to step into a major role at strong safety, Tobi Osunsanmi comes over from Kansas State as another edge presence, and A.J. Harris brings the kind of experience in the secondary that can raise the floor of a unit quickly. For a team trying to keep its momentum, those are not just depth additions. They are the kind of moves that signal a higher standard for who Indiana expects to land.
What makes the group stand out is how directly it addresses the parts of the roster that can swing a season. Zachman gives the Hoosiers a steadier back-end option, Osunsanmi adds pressure off the edge, and Harris offers another proven piece in coverage. Indiana has done well to build a class that looks ready to matter in 2026, and the bigger question now is how much of that talent can translate once the games start and the new pieces are asked to mesh right away. [Read more 🡒]