LeBron James may be a billionaire, but the NBA’s scoring leader still pinches pennies.
The 38-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star tweeted Friday that he has no plans to pay for Elon Musk’s Twitter Blue subscription, even if it means he loses his blue check mark on April 1.
“Welp guess my blue ✔ you’ll be gone soon because if you knew me I wouldn’t pay 5,” tweeted James to 52.8 million followers.
Twitter Blue will actually cost $8 a month, not $5, though the distinction probably doesn’t mean much to James, who once agreed he was “the cheapest guy in the NBA.”
in 2017 interview With ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, James called teammate Dwyane Wade’s assertion of his cheapness “so, so true, so false.”
“I don’t turn on data roaming. I don’t buy any apps,” said James. “I still get Pandora with the commercials.”
“You know you’re rich, right?” Nichols responded.
“I’m not paying for it,” said James. “I don’t pay.”
The 4-time NBA champ earned $431 million over his 20-year career, according to Spottrack dataOf which $ 44.4 million this season. Forbes estimates He has earned an additional $900 million, before taxes, in endorsements since entering the league in 2003.
James’ frugality is so well known that he leaned into it when he played himself in the 2015 comedy “Trainwreck,” directed by Amy Schumer.
In the scene, James insists on splitting the check while at a restaurant as Bill Hader before revealing that he forgot his wallet.
“I don’t know how long this can go on,” James said in the film when asked why he refused to pick up the tab. “Anything can happen. I don’t want to end up like MC Hammer.”
Twitter owner Elon Musk announced this month that the social network had removed “old verified” checkmarks on April 1 as it prompted users to sign up for Twitter Blue.
Going forward, Musk says that only Twitter Blue subscribers will appear in Twitter’s “For You” recommendations tab, and that polls will only be available to users who pay $8.
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