Image via USA Today Sports/John E. Sokolowski
Being an NBA player has a whole list of perks. You get to kick it with the biggest names in rap, you get to help others, and your checks are just silly. The average NBA salary for the 2016-2017 season was a healthy $6.2 million dollars. To help put that in perspective, in comparison, Michael Jordan’s second contract, which at the time was being billed as the deal of the century, was an 8-year, $25 million deal, which comes out to a comparatively paltry $3.1 million dollars per year. And NBA contracts are only getting bigger and bigger. Forbes predicts that the average NBA salary by the 2020-2021 season will be $10 million dollars.
The players have been making increasingly more money as the popularity of the league has risen thanks to the NBA’s expansion overseas and the propensity of highlights clips to easily become Instagram videos and Vine loops (RIP Vine, forever in our hearts). After a bit of research, it becomes clear that the biggest reason the NBA’s salary cap is growing exponentially and the players are being paid beaucoup bucks is the luxe TV contracts that are being sold to cable networks.
The 9-year, $24 billion dollar deal that the NBA most recently inked with ESPN and Turner has lead to everybody cashing out and getting rich. Rookies are making more than ever, otherwise pedestrian players are getting PAID, and the contracts superstars are signing are bananas. For the best players in the league, this is the perfect time to become a free agent, re-up current contracts, and secure the bag. But who are the highest paid NBA players? Excluding all of the money that these highly marketable athletes get from endorsements, appearances, and the ever coveted shoe deals, here are the most caked up guys in the NBA.
LeBron James: $30.96 Million
King James is, understandably, the highest paid player in the league for the 2016-2017 season. The 13-year vet is a perennial All-Star and the best player in the league. Now, he can finally claim the top spot.
James Harden, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley, DeMar DeRozan, and Al Horford: $26.54 Million
A bunch of players are tied for No. 2, and all of them signed new contracts this past summer. These folks played their cards right and got paid to be leaders of their teams. All but two of them were named to the All-Star Game this past season, too.
Dirk Nowitzki: $25 Million
Dirk has been with the Dallas Mavericks for the entirety of his career. Through all of the ups and downs within the franchise, he’s stuck it out, and Mark Cuban has rewarded the 38 year-old big man as such.
Carmelo Anthony: $24.55 Million
Melo has been the face of the New York Knicks since the 2011-2012 season and chose the money route over building a super team and/or joining a contender like his Banana Boat peers. Who can blame him though? He’s amassed over $200 million dollars in his career.
Damian Lillard: $24.32 Million
Rip City’s captain cracks the top 10 highest paid NBA players. One of the scariest offensive threats in the league, who doesn’t shy away from taking game winners or stepping up to a mic, also has a real heavy wallet.