LeBron will make $4M a year from the Sixers. Living in Manhattan and helicoptering to Philadelphia could cost him over $1M of it. He'd be spending a quarter of his salary to avoid living in the city he plays for.
Run the numbers. Shams says the flight is 45 minutes from Manhattan. Twin-engine charter rates run $3,000 to $5,000 an hour, so call it $8,000 a round trip. With 41 home games plus practices, that's 100+ commuting days. $800K a season, minimum.
Then taxes. A New York City resident pays up to 14.8% combined state and city income tax. Pennsylvania is a 3.07% flat tax. On a $4M salary, choosing Manhattan over Philly adds $300K+ a year, and New York taxes residents on everything they earn everywhere.
So why does a man who just took a $48M pay cut spend seven figures on a commute? Because the paycheck stopped mattering years ago. LeBron earns roughly $80M a year off the court. His entire Sixers salary equals about 18 days of being LeBron.
The vet minimum was a gift of cap room to the front office so Embiid, Maxey, and Jaylen Brown get surrounded with actual depth. And when your day job pays 5% of your income, you arrange the day job around your life. His family, his media company, and his business all run better out of the biggest market in America.
Kobe ran this exact math two decades ago, flying from Newport Beach to Staples every day. What he was actually purchasing was hours with his daughters. LeBron at 41, on possibly his last contract, is buying the same thing.
Fred Taylor brought up Tom Brady's claim that Aaron Rodgers is the greatest thrower ever, and Channing Crowder wasn't having it.
Fred Taylor: Tom Brady just said Aaron Rodgers is the greatest thrower of the football that's ever lived.
Channing Crowder: Joe Montana and Dan Marino never lived?
Dan Marino is the best natural passer I've ever watched. Tom, you're a homer.
Ryan Clark: If the greatest quarterback of all time says Aaron Rodgers is the greatest thrower ever, I'm going to believe him before I believe you.
The only thing separating Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers is championships.
Ryan Clark: I admit that legends like Dan Marino and John Elway belong in the conversation...
But when it comes to pure arm talent?
Ryan Clark: There's only one Aaron Rodgers.
The way he places the football, how fast it gets there, and how precise he is... nobody has ever done it better.
This is the literal example of why your label shouldn't be involved in your album. This version is wayyyyyyy harder than commercial, lil baby sold here man. This version here wouldve TOOK OFF
A student flew from Los Angeles to UC Berkeley about 3 times a week for a year and spent $5,600 on flights because it was cheaper than rent, graduating with a 3.88 GPA ๐โ๏ธ