The Amount Of Money LeBron James Makes For A Sponsored Tweet Is INSANE–But It’s Only Half As Much As Ronaldo

If you’re like me: a regular, average, forgettable dude, you are constantly trying to get creative with pulling in cash simply to make ends meet. Checking couch cushions, cashing that savings bond grandma gave you in high school, paying rent two weeks late, etc. Money issues, especially on a fixed income, are debilitatingly stressful.

You bros know the feeling.

That’s why I almost jumped out this office window when  ESPN’s Darren Rovell released how much the world’s most famous athletes make for a measly 140-character sponsored tweet.

Opendorse, a company that helps marketers configure digital and social media endorsement campaigns with athletes, determined the tweet values using various metrics.

The results are astounding.

We’ll start with LeBron James, who has openly expressed his interest in becoming the first billion dollar athlete. James, who earns a $23.5 million salary, has sponsorships with Samsung, Nike, Beats by Dre, and McDonald’s  (among others). He also has almost 23 million Twitter followers, the driving force behind him earning a whopping $139,474 cost per tweet. So basically, if LeBron wakes up and decides he wants a Ferrari but is feeling a bit frugal, he can take just 30 seconds, shoot off a tweet about Joe Shmo’s Auto Body, and essentially drive off with it for free. While I struggle to afford a subway pass.

We get it LeBron, you’re rich enough to wear one of those sweaters with a collar. WE GET IT.

Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence told Darren Rovell,

“We’re basically saying that the value of one LeBron tweet is worth $140,000. And with that, you will reach 23 million people. It would cost you five times more to reach that many people with a TV ad.”

LeBron topped the charts for highest value of any U.S. athlete, with Kevin Durant ($66,553) and Kobe Bryant ($42,389) taking silver and bronze.

And then there’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo is the world’s most popular athlete, with 37 million Twitter followers, 25 million Instagram followers, while reaping in gigantic endorsement deals with Nike, Samsung and  Tag Heuer. He also just purchased a jaw-dropping $18 million property in New York Trump Towers because why the fuck not? His earnings per sponsored tweet:

….

$225,594. And, if you’re scoring at home, that’s $1,611 per LETTER if he’s using the entire 140-character limit.

Just one piece of advice for anyone who’s feeling dead broke and depressed.

[h/t Bleacher Report]

Matt Keohan Avatar
Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.