Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors recently voiced a controversial opinion, suggesting that the NBA does not want its players to be wealthy.
Green’s statement seems paradoxical given the substantial salaries NBA players command. Over four years, Green himself signed two contracts totalling $182 million.
Despite Green’s claim, the NBA is home to some of the highest earners in sports, with salaries that have broken records repeatedly. As of June 2023, the 25th highest-paid player earns over $30 million annually. Icons like Michael Jordan and LeBron James have even achieved billionaire status through their careers in basketball and various business ventures.
The average NBA salary is about $8 million, with only 15 players earning the league’s minimum salary yet still reaching millionaire status through their earnings.
Green elaborated on his statement in a conversation with Shaquille O’Neal on “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” explaining his concerns primarily revolve around financial stability post-retirement. “This job is not set up for us to be wealthy after we’re done playing,” Green commented, highlighting issues like heavy taxation and financial management as players’ significant challenges.
Green also expressed frustration over NBA fines, which, although they may seem trivial compared to their earnings, can accumulate significantly over time. His complaints about fines, however, may garner little sympathy given that player conduct, which these fines often address, is within their control.
The evolution of NBA salaries over recent decades has been striking. When Shaquille O’Neal was the league’s top earner in 1999/00 with a salary of $17 million, few could have predicted the following exponential growth. By the 2022/23 season, 80 players earned more than O’Neal did then, with the top earner, Steph Curry, bringing in $51 million.
In 2007, the NBA signed an eight-year, $7.4 billion contract with ESPN/ABC and TNT. This was followed by an even more substantial nine-year, $24 billion deal in 2014, starting from the 2016-17 season, nearly tripling the league’s revenues from TV contracts.
The NBA’s revenue growth significantly raised the salary cap from $70 million in the 2015-16 season to $94.1 million in 2016-17 and approximately $136 million by the 2023-24 season. This increase enabled substantial player contracts, including Curry’s $201 million deal in 2017 and Antetokounmpo’s $228 million extension in 2020.
