http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11207703/lebron-james-deal-cleveland-cavaliers-2-years-421-million

With an eye toward maximizing the future of the salary cap, LeBron James finalized his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, sources familiar with the process told ESPN.com.

James signed a two-year, $42.1 million deal with the goal of re-signing with the Cavs before the 2016-17 season when a new television deal is expected to create a large jump in value of the maximum contract.

As part of the deal, James will have an option to become a free agent next summer but is fully committed to the Cavs long term, sources said.

"I always believed that I'd return to Cleveland and finish my career there," James wrote in his essay on SI.com announcing his decision on Friday.

Depending on how the new television contracts are put together, the salary cap is projected to leap to as high as $80 million in 2016. There is also uncertainty with the current collective bargaining agreement starting in 2017, another reason James wanted to keep his long-term options open when it comes to the structure of his contract.

James' off-court earnings, which top $40 million per year according to some estimates, allows for him to take some short-term risk to maximize long-term earnings.

James has earned $129 million over his 11-year career but has only earned the max salary three times during that span.

James' Cleveland-based agent Rich Paul and lead negotiator Mark Termini structured the new deal with the Cavs.

>Ready for the long term
>Will prolly jump ship when the Cavs dont make it out of the first round

0% chance he leaves. It's about getting more money, end of story.

I dunno, everyone kept saying he was going to stay with the Heat and he only opted out so they could bring in more players.

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