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Which Longhorns player will make more than Lebron James this year?
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- Which Longhorns player will make more than Lebron James this year?
Lebron James has been signed by the Philadelphia 76ers . "King" James wanted to sign with another team that has a chance of winning the NBA Championship. After trading Paul George to the Celtics for Jaylen Brown, the Sixers fit that bill. To make it work, James took the NBA veteran minimum of just over $3.8 million. That means several college players, including one Texas Longhorn, will make more than Lebron .
There are 18 college players that will make more than Lebron in the upcoming basketball season. James signed a two-year, $7.95 million contract with Philly. He will make $3,876,529 for the 2026–27 season and around and $4.1 million for 2027–28.
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New Texas Longhorns transfer portal signee David Punch is one of them. Punch switched from Fort Worth to Austin in April thanks to a lucrative NIL deal. He will have two years of collegiate eligibility remaining.
Starting all 34 games this season, the 6-foot-7 sophomore averaged 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game last season for TCU.
Punch really came alive in the post season. The Killeen, Texas native averaged 25 points on 58.6% shooting, 8.5 rebounds and three blocks in two Big 12 Tournament games. He also had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds in TCU's 66-64 win over No. 8 seed Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
A four-star prospect out of Harker Heights High School, Punch is considered an upgrade from forward Nic Codie, who left the Longhorns program through the transfer portal. Punch was considered a top 10 transfer this offseason.
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The forward brings great length and athleticism to the Longhorns. He is productive on both sides of the floor and can put up a double-double any given night. While we're not sure exactly how much NIL money Punch is getting, we know it is more than the roughly $3.8 million Lebron is making.
Another Texas Longhorn might join Punch on the list that makes more than James. New signing Marcus Spears Jr.'s NIL package could end up well north of that number.
Spears was the No. 1 ranked prospect in the 2027 class. But the son of former NFL lineman Marcus Spears, reclassified to the 2026 class. He will forgo his senior season at Dynamic Prep in Irving, Texas, and join UT coach Sean Miller a year early. Details of the Spears deal have yet to be made public.
Here is the full list of the 18 players that will make more than Lebron James this season:
| Player |
Position |
Team |
Transfer portal ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aiden Sherrell |
Forward |
Indiana |
No. 20 |
| David Punch |
Forward |
Texas |
No. 7 |
| Flory Bidunga |
Center |
Louisville |
No. 1 |
| Jackson Shelstad |
Guard |
Louisville |
No. 9 |
| John Blackwell |
Guard |
Duke |
No. 3 |
| JT Toppin |
Forward |
Texas Tech |
Returned to team |
| Juke Harris |
Guard |
Tennessee |
No. 2 |
| Massamba Diop |
Center |
Gonzaga |
No. 29 |
| Milan Momcilovic |
Forward |
Kentucky |
No. 4 |
| Moustapha Thiam |
Center |
Michigan |
No. 13 |
| Nikola Kusturica |
Forward |
UCLA |
Freshman |
| PJ Haggerty |
Guard |
Texas A&M |
No. 8 |
| Samet Yigitoglu |
Center |
Indiana |
No. 51 |
| Sananda Fru |
Center |
Marquette |
No. 39 |
| Thomas Haugh |
Forward |
Florida |
Returned to team |
| Tounde Yessoufou |
Guard |
St. John's |
No. 5 |
| Tyran Stokes |
Guard |
Kansas |
Freshman |
| Zoom Diallo |
Guard |
Kentucky |
No. 45 |
Follow us on X/Twitter at @LonghornsWire and @TreyLuerssen for more.
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Which Longhorns player will make more than Lebron James this year?
