LeBron James is about to get a bigger payday than he was expecting. James opted out of the final year of his contract with the Cavaliers that would have paid him $35.6 million so he could become an unrestricted free agent. He is now expected to earn slightly more than that next season.

The NBA announced on June 30, hours before free agency begins, the official salary cap for the 2018-19 season would be set at $101.869 million, with the tax line set at $123.733 million. Teams were working under the assumption that the cap would be set at $101 million. 

The National Basketball Association today announced that the salary cap has been set at $101.869 million for the 2018-19 season. The tax level for the 2018-19 season is $123.733 million. 

The salary cap and tax level go into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 1, when the league's "moratorium period" starts and teams can begin negotiating with free agents. The moratorium period ends at 12:01 p.m. ET on Friday, July 6. 

The minimum team salary, which is set at 90 percent of the salary cap is, $91.682 million for the 2018-19 season.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement provides for three different mid-level exceptions depending on a team's salary level. The non-taxpayer mid-level for the 2018-19 season is $8.641 million, the taxpayer mid-level is $5.337 million, and the mid-level for a team with with room under the salary cap is $4.449 million.

What does this have to do with James? Well, the assumption is that wherever he signs will give him a max contract. A max contract for James will start at 35 percent of the salary cap because he's been in the league for 10-plus years. Players who have been in the league for six years or fewer can only make 25 percent of the cap in the first year of a max deal. Players who have been in the NBA for seven to nine years make 30 percent of cap in the first year. 

The player option James opted out of in Cleveland was worth $35.6 million. Thanks to this new rise in salary cap he'll actually be able to sign a max contract that will pay him $35.63 million next season. This is assuming he takes a max contract, of course. 

How this impacts James long-term is a little harder to predict. The cap is expected to rise even more for the 2019-20 NBA season. James could very easily take a two-year deal, with an option to become an unrestricted free agent after one season, and then try to cash in on the salary-cap rise. However, James would be doing that deal at 34 years old. He could just decide that he wants to sign a long-term deal and comfortably finish out his career wherever he signs.

If James decides to sign a five-year max with Cleveland, it will be worth $207.79 million. If he signs a four-year max elsewhere, it will be worth $153.3 million.

This is LeBron James, and he's always made his decision for his own reasons. Whatever decision he makes will certainly benefit him in some way, whether it's money through his contract, winning on the basketball court or some combination of the two.