Michael Jordan and his contact with Nike led to one of the biggest business stories, that is told even today. The deal would eventually make a billionaire out of MJ, the first basketball star to attain the status. Magic Johnson would follow him to the club in 2023. Just a year prior, another LA Lakers star, LeBron James had become the first active NBA player to reach the 10-figure net worth. They made 3 of the only 4 athlete billionaires. But that could very well change soon as per a conversation on Carmelo Anthony’s podcast.

“If you look at this generation, there are people, there are two contracts in an S&P 500 position away from being a billionaire. What does that mean? What’s my point?” Hasan Minhaj said via 7PM in Brooklyn. “My point is that this generation is also one of the first generations, your generation, and the next generation, that’s going to flip the biggest thing that matters in sports, music, and Hollywood (is) ‘leverage’.”

The standup comic and writer continued, “With money means you can now be an owner. And for me, as like a performer, you as an athlete. The crazy thing is that studios would buy us as IP and then sell ads against us.”

What Minhaj meant by that during any games or series, the ad breaks would mostly feature one of the notable personalities — they draw in the audience, and the company sees a flow in the revenue. The athletes, now a little more cautious, can negotiate well then. Plus, with the increase in salary levels compared to the previous eras, the wealth generation also becomes a little quicker. Let’s look at LeBron James and Michael Jordan‘s Billionaire timeline.

King James made his debut in 2004 and was a billionaire in 2022, achieving the status at the age of 37. Meanwhile, Michael Jordan retired in 2002, and became Billionaire in 2014, but made his league debut back in 1984. That’s why Minhaj emphasized the fact that the current generation and upcoming generation of athletes or celebrities would crack the ten-figure mark more quickly than before.

How LeBron James bettered Michael Jordan’s business acumen

Just like Michael Jordan, even LeBron believed in building wealth through equity. So he did the same and even rejected deals with McDonald’s in 2015 and went ahead with investment in Blaze Pizza. He reportedly paid less than $1 million for a 10% slice of the made-to-order, assembly-line-style pizza chain in 2012.

In 2017, Forbes called Blaze Pizza the ‘fastest-growing restaurant chain in the U.S.’ With 300 plus outlets, LeBron will reportedly make $50 million from the franchise alone. This is just a small example of owning and making the most of the investments. That is why even comedian Hasan Minhaj did his first CPG venture with Big Kolkata Chai Co.

For NBA players, the upcoming season will also see an increase in the average salary. From $9.7 million from the 2023-24 season to $11,910,649  as per Basketball Reference. Once again Stephen Curry will be the highest salaried player with $55.76 million for the 2024-25 season. Plus, five players will earn more than $50 million during the upcoming campaign. And to top it off, 16 players are scheduled to rise above the $50 million more during the 2025-26 season, with Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis breaking the $60 million per year barrier.