r/sports • u/paulfromatlanta Atlanta Hawks • 22d ago

Basketball LeBron James and business partner plot $5B investment to launch rival NBA league

https://www.themirror.com/sport/basketball/lebron-james-international-league-nba-1309260
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u/BigLan2 22d ago

They've attracted some big names to the Saudi league, but they're mostly coming to it as a "retirement league" and the teams are far from being competitive.

From a players perspective though, I don't know how you pass up the mountain of cash they're offering.

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u/jtmj121 22d ago

Having to move my wife and child there would be a no go.

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u/chezicrator 22d ago

Ultimately why Messi turned it down. His wife was like helllll nahhhhhh

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u/Leading_Put- 22d ago

Plus he actually had options to get similar money in the long run... Unlike Ronaldo

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u/YashVardhan99 22d ago

Please explain

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u/halfman_halfboat 22d ago

The Apple+ money

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u/chupacabra1 21d ago

So why not MLS for Ronaldo if the MLS could manage to land Messi (and Suarez, Alba, Busquets, etc)? 

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u/Leading_Put- 21d ago

He reportedly had a legal issue that at best would have limited his marketability and at worst got him arrested

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u/The_Homie_Tito 22d ago

I'm sure a lot of players felt the same until they saw how many zeros were on the check

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u/efdxnz 22d ago

They don’t live in normal suburbs and have unlimited fly in and out potential. First class, private flights.

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u/Convergecult15 21d ago

Unlimited 13 hour flights isn’t the deal you make it out to be.

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u/mosehalpert 22d ago

Sure but you could also live away from them for part of like 3-5 years and make enough that your grandchildren's grandchildren dont ever even have to think about money.

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u/-Boston-Terrier- 22d ago

Heck, many of them already live like that.

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u/TonyzTone 22d ago

I feel like the Saudi league has grown much further and faster than the MLS.

Their investment has really only been happening for like 10 years and already they’re a Top 30 league in the world with almost no native population to develop talent from.

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u/Comicksands 22d ago

Liv Golf is doing well though IIRC