The Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is a modern basketball legend. And it comes with a perk of Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, paying for his blue tick. Yes, you heard it right. The 38-year-old might not be paying $8 for his exclusive blue tick. As previously mentioned by Elon that the ticks will only come with a subscription of $8 dollars per month. However, there are many celebrities who are totally against paying for the tick on their profile. And LeBron is one of them who is not willing to pay.
The former champion is more than vocal on social subject matters, and his stand on not paying is pretty firm. But the fans could still see his blue tick even after all the celebrities were snatched of their exclusivity. Apart from James, there are other celebrities also who do not miss their tick on Twitter. But then, star athletes like Shaquille O’Neal, Tiger Woods, Aaron Rodgers, and Patrick Mahomes no longer hold the blue tick privilege. So what makes LeBron James, Tom Brady, Stephen King, and many more keep their blue ticks instead of others?
“I’m Paying For A Few Personally,” Said Elon Musk
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— X News Daily (@xDaily) April 20, 2023
The blue tick used to be exclusively given to famous personalities so that their accounts could be differentiated from fake ones. It was not even a paid system. It only had a few criteria, and if any individual matched those, he or she would be given the tick. But now it looks like Elon wants to mix things up. He wants to make some changes to Twitter that will revolutionalize the platform. However, until now, he has only managed to concern the celebrities who are not willing to pay for the service.
“Welp, guess my blue [checkpoint] will be gone soon ’cause if you know me, i ain’t paying the 5,” said James on March 31. And since his tick mark is still there, the fans are questioning whether he paid for it. His account also displays, “This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.”
According to the Verge reports James stands by his words and is not paying for the service. It looks like Elon got him covered, as he is paying for some of the personalities. He mentioned that on Twitter, letting everyone know why some accounts still have their checkpoint even if they claimed they were not paying.
Why Is Twitter Owner Paying For LeBron James?
The 38-year-old is a massive personality on social media. Twitter is one of many platforms where LeBron James connects with his huge audience of 52.7 million followers. However, once the blue checkmark is removed, their account also becomes like other ordinary accounts. Moreover, it will be easy to impersonate such big accounts to gain the following on a fake ID.
Meanwhile, Musk wants to state that high-profile accounts are paying for the tick, and so should other people. But giving the blue tick to anyone who pays would reduce the value of the blue tick. Making it just another add-on to the account anyone could have. Maybe Elon has more on his mind. But for the time being, LeBron James enjoys a free blue check mark on his account.
