Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James' decision to opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent on July 1 is no longer a surprise.
LeBron James' agent informed the Cavs of the decision to opt out before Wednesday's deadline. By opting out, James' is expected to make more in 2016-17 than he would have by remaining in his contract he signed last July.
Since James returned to Cleveland in 2014, he has signed two, two-year contracts, opting out after the first season of each deal to capitalize on larger raises.
The 2016 Finals' MVP could sign a two-year contract with $56.3 million in July and opt out next season when he could sign a long-term deal with full Bird rights when the salary cap is projected to jump from $94 million in 2016-17 to $107 million in 2017-18.
However, according to the three league executives as told to USA Today Sports, if James took that rout, he will not be able to sign a five-year deal worth $200 million in the summer of 2017.
It is because of an obscure clause in the collective bargaining agreement known as the "over 36 rule." The rule is complicated and prevents teams from giving four or five-year deals to players who are unlikely to play the life of the deal with no salary cap consequence.
For a player who will be 36 years old in the last season of a five-year deal, his final annual salary is applied proportionally to previous seasons and counts towards the team's cap. And most players aren't making the maximum at that stage of their career.
But most players aren't James. And James is a very unique player.
Under current rules, James could sign a four-year, $156.8 million contract with Cleveland. If James decided to leave the Cavs after the next season, he could sign a four-year, $150.4 million deal with another team.
But James has other options, too.
Since Cleveland does not have full Bird rights on James now, it can only sign him this offseason to a four-year contract worth $137.7 million.
Source: USA Today
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