Report: LeBron, CP3 could benefit from minor CBA tweak

The newly negotiated collective bargaining agreement could see huge dividends for NBA Players' Association heads Chris Paul and LeBron James.

One of the many changes in the new CBA includes changing the "over-36 rule" that bars teams from signing four- or five-year contracts if the players turn 36 anytime during the life of the contract.

That age limit will be bumped to the age of 38 going forward, reports ESPN's Brian Windhorst. James and Paul, along with a host of other aging superstars, could stand to benefit from an otherwise minor tweak.

Paul, for example, can now ink a five-year deal worth $210 million under the new CBA as compared to a four-year contract within the previous "under-36 rule."

The same applies for James, who inked a three-year deal this summer. With the over-38 rule in place over the previous restriction, that would free him up to sign a five-year max worth over $200 million as compared to the three-year deal worth roughly $100 million under the previous rule.

Looking that far into the future, however, is not something James is interested in.

"I'm too much of a present guy to worry about what can happen in the future. If I'm blessed and able and the game continues to bless me, then we'll cross that path when we get there," James said.

"But there's guys in our league now that are 34, 35, 36 that have an opportunity to sign a longer-deal contract, so I think it's great for our league."

Of course, it's not just superstars who stand to benefit from these CBA changes. Salaries across the board will rise, with the likes of minimum, rookie-scale, mid-level, and biannual exception salaries increasing by 45 percent.