As you know, Lebron James is a valuable asset for the NBA. Now that Lebron is out of the Playoffs after his Lakers being knocked out of the NBA Playoffs by the Phoenix Suns, how much will the ratings and revenue will go down?
Lebron James is one of the highest paid players in the NBA. He’s expected to earn $95.4 million, including an estimated $64 million from endorsements, memorabilia and media. With Lebron out of the playoffs, expect the TV ratings to go down.
Through Thursday, NBA playoff games have averaged 2.89 million viewers across ESPN, ABC and TNT (16 telecasts), up 61% from the comparable point of last year’s months-delayed “bubble” postseason (1.80M) and up 3% from same number of games in 2019, the last time the playoffs took place during its usual time of year.
Will the ratings go down, or will other teams be able to replace the excitement Lebron James bring to the game?