With their current media rights deal expiring next year, the NBA is expected to take a giant leap on the new one. Parting ways with their current partners the Warner Bros., Adam Silver is reportedly set to sign an eleven-year $76 billion deal with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon. Realizing that superstars could soon make nearly hundred million per year, former player Evan Turner saw it as a means for stars like LeBron James to finally overshadow soccer legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Discussing the new potential media rights deal on the Point Forward Podcast with Andre Iguodala, Turner compared it to a LeBron James’ situation from over a decade ago, “I compare it to what I used to think when Bron was playing for Miami.” Despite being the biggest superstar in the league at the time and one of the biggest in the sports world, LeBron’s contract with the Miami Heat back when he joined in 2010 was merely, six-year $110.1 million.

Although it was a massive contract at the time for any basketball player, Turner was surprised when he put it next to the contracts of soccer players, “He’s making $14 million on court, and you had dudes like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi… and they were making more in a weekend.”

Being the best players in the most popular sport in the world, CR7 and Messi were making nearly 20 million euros per year back when LeBron played for Miami. And believing that LeBron was one of the most recognizable faces in the world, Turner thought he deserved more money. So, he was happy that with the new media rights deal, King James and other superstars will finally get a chance to make the kind of money that soccer stars make.

How will the situation change after the new Media Rights Deal?

Whatever money the new media rights deal brings in, fifty percent of it will go to the players because of the new CBA. And from that season on, every team’s salary cap will also see a ten percent year-on-year hike until the deal expires. With that, the salaries of max level players will reach a number never seen before in the NBA. As per the expectations of Nets GM Sean Marks, by the early 2030s, superstars will be earning three-digit salaries every year. And if LeBron decides to keep playing when the new media deal kicks in, he will get a piece of that money being the biggest superstar in the league.

Meanwhile, as per CR7 and Messi’s current deal, Ronaldo is earning $200 million per year in Al-Nassr and is expected to sign another massive extension soon. On the other hand, Messi is making $65 million playing for Inter Miami in the MLS. Yes, there is still some time left before NBA players start matching soccer stars’ pay check. But it seems more likely to happen with the new media deal and Evan Turner is happy to see that change.

Before you go, do not forget to check out how Caitlin Clark’s humility despite the negativity surrounding her is impressing Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato. Keep checking this space for more such updates.