There is absolutely no question that Bronny James was worth being drafted at 55 overall. If he hasn’t lived up to the hype on the court, he has definitely lived up to it off of it. Official numbers are starting to roll in and more than $500,000 worth of Bronny jerseys have already been sold this season. At about $100 a pop, those sales numbers tally up to over $50 million. This means he has sold the most jerseys as a rookie in NBA history — yes, even more than his father did back in 2003.
Bronny’s popularity shouldn’t come as a surprise — he is the son of LeBron James, and he has literally grown up in the public eye. At Sierra Canyon High School, his games became public events as the likes of Drake, Quavo, and other entertainers would consistently attend the basketball matchups. By the time Bronny got to USC, he was more than a household name; he already had entered superstar status. He received the most NIL money of any student athlete, including big time deals with Nike, PlayStation, and Beats By Dre.
Bronny moving the needle
So, it really wasn’t surprising that Bronny entered the NBA as popular as he was, but nobody thought his popularity would translate like this. It’s rare to see a player who doesn’t play much move the needle the way he does. Bronny is splitting time between the NBA and G-League, and his impact off the court has been felt in both leagues. For the South Bay Lakers, games that he plays in have been selling out in minutes. For the Lakers, they have made their return on Bronny’s contract back and then some. Bronny signed a four-year, $7,895,796 contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, including $4,371,403 guaranteed, with an average annual salary of $1,973,949. In year one of Bronny’s deal, they made a net positive of at least $47 million due to his jersey sales.
Despite only being selected 55th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, Bronny is more hyped than any other player in his class, particularly No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher. This is demonstrated by the fact that Risacher’s Summer League debut jersey only brought $3,360 at Sotheby’s, while Bronny’s sold for $38,400. It was expected that Bronny’s jersey would sell only for between $6,000 and $10,000. Risacher’s, on the other hand, failed to even reach the lowest projection of $4,000–$6,000. The Bronny effect is very real.
