“The biggest basketball story right now is also a technology story and a personal finance story,” Steve Goldstein reports for MarketWatch. “It’s the report that Carmelo Anthony, currently of the New York Knicks, may join fellow Olympians LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat next season.”
“Basketball has what’s called a salary cap, limiting the total pay that any one franchise can spend on its players. So in order for Anthony to join Miami, the team has to fit his salary in with the other stars,” Goldstein reports. “So what needs to happen first is for Anthony to opt out of his contract. Then, if James, Bosh and Wade all decide to opt out of their contracts as well, Miami can sign Anthony, and if they can get James, Bosh and Wade to accept lower salaries, they can have all four stars on one team.”
Goldstein reports, “Where Tim Cook and Apple come in. Per ESPN: ‘Sources say the 29-year-old was finalizing what is believed to be the biggest equity cash payout for a professional athlete in history as part of Apple’s recent $3 billion purchase of Beats Electronics. Sources briefed on the situation say James realized a profit of more than $30 million in cash and stock in the Beats sale after he had struck a deal to get a small stake in the company at its inception in 2008 in exchange for promoting its high-end headphones.’ It’s this $30 million cushion that may lead James to consider taking less to woo Anthony.”
Read more in the full article here.
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