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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James said he won't pay to keep his Twitter verification following new rules announced by CEO Elon Musk recently.
"Welp guess my blue will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5," James tweeted to his nearly 53 million followers on Friday (March 31).
Musk announced that most verified "legacy" accounts would have to pay $8 to keep their blue badge beginning on Saturday (April 1). Twitter's website claims it “will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks,” with accounts that were verified prior to Musk's takeover last year having to sign up for Twitter Blue.
It's worth noting that there's speculation the announcement could be part of a prank given that the change falls on April Fools' Day.
James, 38, officially became the first active NBA player to earn a net worth exceeding $1 billion. The four-time NBA champion netted $121.2 million in total earnings last year, increasing his official net work to $1 billion, joining the likes of Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant, both of whom exceeded their respective $1 billion net worths after retirement from their Hall of Fame playing careers.
James returned from a foot injury last Sunday (March 26) after missing several games since February 26. The four-time NBA champion broke the NBA's all-time scoring record earlier this season and is currently averaging 29.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists during the 2022-23 season.