LeBron James makes more on Instagram than any other American professional athlete.
LeBron James is the face of American sports, period. He is undoubtedly on the Mount Rushmore of most influential athletes in the world in 2020 and when it comes to the United States, nobody even comes close to LeBron.
Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes are up there, but not quite to LeBron’s level. Bryce Harper and Mike Trout don’t come close. Neither do Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin. Tiger Woods might be the only American athlete that could challenge LeBron for that title, as it was his a decade ago.
This position has put LeBron in a situation to make a lot of money. There is a reason why he moved to Los Angeles and instantly started working on “Space Jam 2”. There is a reason why he has already appeared in movies such as “Trainwreck”.
There is a reason why he can do great humanitarian things as well, such as opening his I Promise school, which helps at-risk kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
It is more than just his $153 million contract, or his endorsement deals with companies such as Nike, it also extends to the realm of social media. LeBron James could make a lot of money on Instagram.
How much LeBron James could make on Instagram:
A study performed by Myprotein, called the Insta Earnings Report, reveals how much each athlete could make per Instagram post with their following.
Per the study, LeBron James could make as much as $355,500 per Instagram post. Of course, not everything is an advertisement or a brand deal or a sponsored post, though.
This makes LeBron the fourth-highest earning athlete on Instagram in the world, trailing Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Stephen Curry is the next best basketball player, coming in at sixth with $170,500 per post.
Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Durant round up the top 30, coming in at ninth and 11th, respectively. Anthony Davis makes the 10th-most among NBA players, as his six million followers could earn him just under $30,000 per post.
The gap between LeBron at four and the three international superstar soccer players ahead of him is fairly large, though. Neymar, Messi and Ronaldo all can earn over $775,000 per Instagram post, while Ronaldo could make $975,000 per post.
It goes to show just how important this massive following is to these athletes and how brands and companies look at these massive sports superstars and their social media followings.