Lebron is paid so much because of his economic value to the team, NBA, and city that he plays in. He is actually under-paid for his true value along with a few other superstars because of salary caps and maximum salaries allowed.
Explanation:
Basically In this era, the most important television properties are live events, that people want to see in real time without dvr-ing, because the advertisements are guaranteed to be seen by a huge audience. This is why television rights to sports are massive. The NBA is popular world wide (unlike American football) and their stars don’t wear helmets covering their face. The players are market-ball, recognizable and a single great player can bring a team into contention for a championship. Lebron is arguably the best player ever and so any fan of basketball, whether they like him or not, wants to see him. He has crossover appeal, so even non sports fans want to see him. There are only a handful of people in any industry that the whole world pays attention to and so, he gets paid a lot even if it’s no where near what he’s actually worth.
