Former ESPN star Pablo Torre confirmed this week that he’s officially “looking into” a contract that Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James recently signed.
It was reported that James will use a Fanatics’ helicopter as part of his deal with the company. According to ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin, the league’s all-time leading scorer will use a helicopter to commute back and forth between New York and Philadelphia during the 2026-27 season.
“A source close to Fanatics tells TMZ Sports the newly signed 76ers superstar — a “key partner” for the biz — is one of the “most important athletes in the world,” and because of that, they’re happy to let him use the company chopper anytime he wants,” TMZ reported last week.
During an episode of “Tuned In,” Torre told Front Office Sports that he considers James’ contract with Fanatics to be “something of interest to the league.” He said NBA owners have asked him to explain the deal.
“I will say that we’re very interested, and we are, of course, looking into all of the way that is both a good story, as well as something that’s of interest to the league,” Torre said, via Front Office Sports.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images.
This could be trouble for LeBron.
A year ago, Torre provided in-depth reporting on the Los Angeles Clippers and how they used a $28 million endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the salary cap
Despite receiving backlash from Clippers fans, Torre was vindicated when the league issued a one-year suspension to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. The team also had to forfeit its first-round picks for the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 drafts.
“What ESPN had done, according to my reporting, is they were fed a story by the Clippers that the Clippers may have known was not true,” Torre said, via Awful Announcing. “And why do you do that? Well, perhaps it’s because that’s the available territory that you have, having been beaten on the other part of this landscape. Perhaps you really believed it, because the Clippers looked you in the eye and for months, for a year, said to you, ‘We’re telling the truth, that annoying, clout-chasing podcaster is lying to you.”
Time will tell if Torre ends up having another massive investigation on his hands.
