NBA

How Much LeBron James is Effecting the Lakers Market

Prior to the Los Angeles Lakers opening night on October 18 when they face the Portland Trail Blazers, take a look into how much LeBron James is effecting the Lakers financial market.

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LeBron James has boosted both ticket and merchandise sales for the Los Angeles Lakers since joining the club.

According to StubHub, LeBron’s move to the Lakers has boosted ticket prices by over 400 percent. Opening night ticket prices are now averaging $934.

James is driving up ticket prices for nearly every city he plays in. “When the Lakers come into different markets, we are seeing a massive pop,” said Scott Jablonski, StubHub’s GM of the NBA, NFL, and NHL. “It’s been one of the bigger things we’ve seen.”

The current highest-demand NBA game for the upcoming season is the Lakers’ home opener when the Houston Rockets visit. The average ticket for the game is $934.

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The second most expensive game is Christmas Day, when the Lakers visit the back-to-back defending champion Golden State Warriors. Tickets for the matchup are averaging over $700, which is a 120 percent increase from last Christmas.

TV ratings have also seen a boost and it’s just the preseason. James’ first preseason match against the Denver Nuggets earned 1.17 million viewers on ESPN, which was the third largest audience for a preseason game since 2009.

Merchandise is another category where the LeBron effect has seen a boost. At the Lakers first two preseason games in LA, Los Angeles has sold double the amount of merchandise compared to last season according to the team.

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LeBron James’ decision to move to Los Angeles has already showed to be beneficial for the ball club, and surely will be throughout the remainder of James’ time spent in LA.

James signed a 4-year, $153,312,846 contract with the team in July, and he will become an unrestricted free agent in 2022. In 15 career seasons, James has earned $233,893,001 in NBA contracts.

 

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