July 24, 2026 · PM edition

LeBron Takes a Pay Cut While Big Tech Blows Its Credit Rating on Robot Dreams

Big Tech is borrowing billions to build the future while LeBron a courtside billionaire is working for less than a mid-level marketing manager - and somehow Aiyuk is the one who played himself.

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Full recap

Good morning. The market is premarket-moving on Intel, Oracle, and American Express, which means someone somewhere is having a very bad breakfast. The real story though is Moody's quietly tapping the shoulder of Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, and the rest of the AI spending club to remind them that borrowing infinite money to build infinite chatbots is, technically, a credit risk. Unprecedented AI spending, they said. Unprecedented. As if the rating agencies have a great track record spotting problems before they become crises. Let that sink in. The most cash-rich companies on the planet are now leaning on debt, stock dilution, and off-balance-sheet accounting wizardry to fund their GPU hoarding habit. This is not a sign of strength. This is a sign that the hype cycle has officially lapped the fundamentals and is now lapping them again from behind. Meanwhile at the APEC summit in China, the U.S. and other nations signed off on an open-source AI cooperation statement, the first of its kind at the ministerial level. Everyone shaking hands over open-source AI while simultaneously building moats around proprietary models. Diplomacy is just theater with better suits. Now to sports, where LeBron a courtside billionaire just signed with the Philadelphia 76ers for less money than he made as a 22-year-old rookie in 2003. His 2026-27 salary: $3.87 million. His rookie year salary: more than that. The man took a pay cut to chase a ring in Philly, which is either the most admirable or the most delusional thing anyone has done in professional sports this decade. Possibly both. The Eastern Conference power rankings are being reshuffled in real time. LeBron landing in Philly with what sounds like a rebuilt 76ers roster has the Knicks and Celtics looking over their shoulders. The East suddenly has three teams worth caring about, which is three more than usual for about eight months of the regular season. Brandon Aiyuk, meanwhile, is still frozen in 49ers purgatory, sitting on the reserve/left squad list and apparently refusing to seek reinstatement. The agent take here is blunt: this is his fault. When your own representation goes public to say you played yourself, you have officially entered a new tier of contract dispute embarrassment. The throughline today is people and institutions spending recklessly or stubbornly on bets that may not pay off. Big Tech borrowing to feed the AI beast. LeBron betting his final years on a Philly redemption arc. Aiyuk betting his career on a standoff he is losing. At least LeBron's downside is a bad season. Moody's downside is a balance sheet crater with a trillion-dollar logo on it.

Highlights

  • Moody's just told Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet that their AI spending addiction is a credit problem now - the rating agencies finally noticed the party after everyone else already had the hangover.
  • LeBron a courtside billionaire signed for $3.87 million in 2026-27, which is less than his rookie deal in 2003-04 - somewhere a financial advisor is staring at the ceiling at 3am.
  • Brandon Aiyuk is sitting in NFL limbo by choice, which is the sports equivalent of refusing to cash a check because you're mad at the bank.
  • The U.S. and China agreed to cooperate on open-source AI at APEC, which will definitely hold up the moment one side gets a meaningful lead.

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