Please note – there is an updated article regarding this topic with additional, in-depth information on the 2022-2023 NBA season. That updated article can be found here.
Whether you believe NBA players are overpaid or not, the truth of the matter is that most NBA players are paid a healthy salary per season. And as compared to other American sports, NBA players definitely get paid within the top quartile of all athletes.
Similarly, with the average NBA salary standing in at $7.5 million for the 2021-22 season, the question as to whether or not NBA players are overpaid begins to seem a bit obvious. However, wanting to dig a bit deeper into payment structure of NBA players, we are going to look to see how much NBA players make per game, per minute, and even per second.
It should be noted, before fully delving into the question of how much do NBA players make per game, per minute, and even per second, that the data we will be using to answer these questions will come from Basketball Reference. Basketball Reference is, as the name suggests, the premiere destination for basketball reference points and is generally a reliable site for NBA information.
Lastly, as we will be looking at how much NBA players are paid per game, we will need to make a few assumptions before answering the question. The main assumption here is that the players we discuss play the full 82 game season, are neither waived nor opted out from the team, and do not incur any fines or suspensions during the season.
Again, our review is a general one and takes these assumptions into account as to make the math a bit easier to complete.
When do NBA Players Get Paid
Contrary to popular belief, NBA players are not paid after each game. Rather, NBA players are paid according to the league’s standard paydays, which are on the 1st and 15th of each month, beginning on November 15th. The default paycheck system amounts to 24 paychecks over a one calendar year period.
However, as with many things in the NBA, there are a few clauses which can affect the total pay a player receives within their paycheck. While we won’t consider these clauses into our calculation of how much an NBA player makes per game, it is some insightful information.
Firstly, an NBA player can be paid a portion of their total contract as soon as it is signed. Secondly, an NBA player can be paid an advance on their salary, which is limited to 80% of the player’s guaranteed salary or 50% of their base salary, whichever is less.
Similarly, an NBA player may receive a loan against their salary. This loan must be repaid from their salary and each loan cannot exceed the individual player’s remaining amount of guaranteed salary for that season. However, the loan can be repaid over the remaining seasons that are fully guaranteed.
And lastly, an NBA player can defer up to 25% of their compensation. This deferred compensation will be paid after May 1st of the following season and is included in the team salary in which it is earned and not the season in. which it is paid out.
Do NBA Players Get Paid During the Playoffs?
As mentioned above, NBA players are paid on their entire salary throughout the year. These payments are broken down into 24 individual paychecks, which are paid to each player on the 1st and 15th of each month. However, an NBA player on an NBA team which reaches the NBA playoffs is also awarded an additional bonus payment.
Currently, the NBA has set aside a sum of $23,287,260 for NBA playoff teams. This amount is split amongst teams as they advance through the playoffs. Team’s that qualify for the NBA playoffs will receive $347,545 to be split amongst the members of the team. Reaching the second round of the playoffs qualifies those teams for an additional $413,534 and conference finalists receiving an additional $683,363.
However, by making the NBA Finals, the losing team will be awarded an additional $2,732,699, while the winning team will be awarded an additional $4,124,054.
NBA Salaries Per Game
As discussed above, NBA players are paid on the 1st and 15th of each month. However, if we wanted to look deeper and analyze just how much an NBA player is paid per game, then we will need to base the information off-of a regular, 82-game schedule.
Below, we will take a look at how much an NBA player is paid peer game against the average player salary of $7.5 million as well as the game salaries of some of the more notable players currently in the league.
Average NBA Salary – $7.5 million – pay-per-game – $91,463.41
Stephen Curry – $45,780,966 – pay-per-game – $558,304.46
If we really want to dig deeper, we can look at how much NBA players make per minute. Now, there are two ways we can go about this. Firstly, we can look at amount paid per minute per game played, from an 82-game season, or we can look at it from a per-minute, per-year perspective. We have opted to look at the amount an NBA player makes per-minute played per regular season play.
As there are 48-minutes in a regular NBA game, we will simply need to multiply 48-minutes by 82-games and divide that amount against the salaries of specific NBA players. 48×82 gives us 3,936. So, in a regular season, an NBA player can play a maximum of 3,936 minutes, not including overtime play. On a per-minute, per-season perspective, NBA players are paid accordingly:
Average NBA Salary – $7.5 million – per-minute-per-game – $1,905
Stephen Curry – $45,780,966 – per-minute-per-game – $11,631
Looking even deeper, we can drill down how much an NBA player can expect to make per-second, per-game played. Simple math calls for 60-seconds to be multiplied by 48 total minutes played per game, with the end result being multiplied by an 82-game season. 60-seconds multiplied by 48-minutes multiplied by 82-games gives us a total of 236,160 maximum seconds played in an NBA season without any overtime play. Dividing this number by a player’s salary will give us the amount an individual player earns per second of an NBA season.
Average NBA Salary – $7.5 million – per-second-per-game – $31.75
Stephen Curry – $45,780,966 – per-second-per-game – $193.85
While it is a well-known fact that NBA players are generally well-paid, seeing these numbers broken down by game, by minute, and by second definitely puts their salaries into perspective.
Interestingly enough, these numbers do not include any endorsement deals or bonuses that these players may receive. And while these numbers are truly staggering, it really brings up an interesting question of, just how much do NBA team owners profit off a team after paying these salaries? What do you think, do you think that NBA players are overpaid or are they worth the salaries they receive?
How do NBA Players get Paid? – Basketball Noise
The NBA is one of the richest and most profitable leagues in the world. With that, comes the enormous daily transactions that are made throughout the association during the regular season and beyond.
The NBA has the highest minimum contracts in American sports, paying each player nearly $1 million per year. In comparison, the MLB (Major League Baseball) and NHL (National Hockey league) have minimum contracts at roughly $500,000, and the NFL (National Football League) comes in at just over $450,000.
Outside of minimum deals, there is no limit on what players can make on a yearly basis. With players collecting such large amounts of money annually, one must wonder how do NBA players Get Paid? NBA Players get paid on the 15th of every month with a majority of NBA players getting direct deposits from their team.
Currently, Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry is the highest paid player in the league, taking home an astounding $40.2 million in salary per year. Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chris Paul is second on that list at $38.5 million, and the top three is rounded out by Houston Rockets’ Russell Westbrook at $38.1 million for a year’s work.
The Salary Process
According to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) since 2017, players receive their pay cheques on the first and 15th of every month. Unfortunately, the bargaining agreement does not stipulate on whether these payments are physical cheques or direct deposits. The CBA also lists the processes of bonuses, escrow and advances, but these are also not specific in the nature for how they are distributed.
Former NBA player Jalen Rose revealed on his podcast that players receive direct deposits for their earnings, but surprisingly, this isn’t the case for all players.
The Variations of Pay
It would be expected that players would have a direct deposit for their salary given the dollar amount, but the process isn’t as straight forward as it seems.
Legally, a direct deposit isn’t a requirement for all states. In states like New York and California, employees (players) must agree to receive their salary via direct deposit.
As most players make multi millions a year, it is anticipated they would have bank accounts to receive these type of payments, but there are a lot of players that prefer to cash their cheques immediately. Some may view this as financially irresponsible, but this is their right by law.
The CBA also discusses the opportunity for advanced cheques.
As currently constructed, the CBA allows players to receive up to 80% of their salary before November 1st, which in typical seasons would be just after the start of the regular season. An example of this was the late great Kobe Bryant, who made headlines as he received a $24.3 million cheque for 80% of his salary in 2013.
It’s important to note that NBA guidelines allow players to receive incredibly large individual cheques if they earn a high enough salary. The NBA also takes steps to ensure players don’t spend their salary all at once, as in addition to the 80% guaranteed salary limit, the league also puts a 50% limit on base salary cheques for the lesser earning players. We put together a video of the most paid players in the NBA.
How often to players get paid?
The frequency of player payments throughout the league varies from situation to situation and player to player.
In general, players are paid on a bi-weekly basis during the regular season. Although it’s believed most are paid this way, players can absolutely negotiate a different payment structure from a procedure standpoint.
From monthly, half yearly or all at once, player’s and their agents have the ability to negotiate a payment structure that suits their lifestyle and financial objectives. Like we’ve established, Bryant agreed quite a unique payment structure to receive 80% of his salary in one lump sum, and ultimately, it is a case by case scenario in the association.
How about Bonuses?
Similar to yearly salary, player bonuses can vary on when they are given out.
The difference, however, is player bonuses are usually dictated on the time in which these agreements are activated.
For example, if a player has a bonus for making an NBA All-Star team, that bonus will likely be paid during All-Star break. If a player has a bonus for making an All-NBA Team, that bonus will usually be paid after the regular season and so on and so forth.
Additionally, if a player has a sign on bonus for joining a franchise, that bonus is usually paid immediately after committing to the organization via any way the player chooses. Like all things, players can of course negotiate how and when these bonuses are paid despite their timing. On the rare occasion, player bonuses can even be agreements outside of monetary value.
Players have become more Financially Intelligent Over Time
It wasn’t that long ago that most players in the NBA were financially inept.
There was no education on personal finance, nor was there any guidance when making financial decisions.
Nowadays however, players have become money savvy and financially educated to maximise their earnings. Smarter investments and researched decision making have become common practice, as players understand the importance of being financially secure beyond their playing days.
Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young tracks his spending and prefers to pay less with fast food than dining at expensive restaurants, Klay Thompson leans on the money mistakes he made as a rookie to drive his decisions now, and ex scoring machine Gilbert Arenas had to live like a college student to avoid debt during his career.
Furthermore, the NBA introduced the “Rookie Transition Program” in 1986, which encourages new players to spend their money wisely. Although rookie contracts are more than most people will make in their lifetime, this program is particularly important considering they are the lowest paid players in the league, and usually have no experience on handling significant amounts of money.
All in all, the NBA make transactions in a variety of ways every single day. With player contracts becoming so diverse across the league, there aren’t many things players can’t do to influence how and when they receive their salary.
How much players in different leagues receive. Europrobasket study
The Europrobasket academy has released a comprehensive study on how much money foreigners earn in the top European championships. "Interception" carefully translated everything.
Important:
1) the amounts are in dollars, not in euros, as usual;
2) believe it or not, it's up to you, but the authors of the work say that in the process of preparation they talked with many agents, coaches and team members.
Average salary in Europe:
Spain. The strongest teams play in the ACB League, many Spanish clubs play in European competitions. Accordingly, there are the best salaries, and the budgets of Real Madrid and Barcelona exceed $40 million. On average, players in Spain make from 250 to 500 thousand per season, but there are exceptions: for example, Nikola Mirotic with his $ 4 million a year or Sergio Yull, Walter Tavares, Corey Higgins - they all earn about $ 2 million.
Turkey. Two teams from the Turkish championship play in the Euroleague, several more clubs in the Eurocup and the Champions League. The country has some of the highest salaries and almost half of the clubs have budgets in excess of $10 million. Leaders can get big money, for example: Shane Larkin - $ 3.7 million, Nando de Colo - 2.4 million, Jan Vesely - 2.2 million. At the same time, on average, foreigners earn 250-500 thousand in the league.
Russia. Some of the highest paid players in Europe play here. For example, Alexei Shved ($4 million last season, this amount may differ), Mike James and Nikola Milutinov (2.5 million each). But the average salary in the United League is about 200-450 thousand dollars per year.
Italy. Few people expected this country to be so high in the ranking, but elite basketball players also play in the Italian championship. For example, Milan defender Sergio Rodriguez, who receives about $ 2 million, is the highest paid player this season. On average, the salaries of foreigners in Serie A range from 180 to 350 thousand dollars.
Germany. The German economy is the fourth largest in the world, so it's not surprising to see the Bundesliga in this ranking. Four championship teams at once have more than $10 million for the season, and the budget of one of them, Bayern, is as much as $25 million. 1 million
Greece. The economic crisis has played a role in the amounts that foreigners earn in this country. But the Greek league is played by top basketball players, and three teams have budgets over $10 million (including Olympiakos, which plays in the second division). The average salary here is from 150 to 250 thousand, although Nick Calathes received 2.25 million in Pao last season, and Kostas Sloukas is now in Olya - 1.8 million.
Israel. Teams from here do not shine in Europe, and the money here is much lower. The exception is Maccabi, whose budget is $26.5 million, and point guard Scotty Wilbekin earns $1.7 million. But this is not the norm, but the norm - from 80 to 250 thousand dollars.
France. Only two teams from here have a budget of more than $10 million, but this is one of the most reliable countries in terms of payments - contracts are guaranteed by the French government. Interestingly, only 30% of clubs' budgets go towards paying players, while in the rest of Europe these expenses account for more than half of club budgets. On average, foreigners here earn from 80 to 200 thousand dollars a season. Two years ago, the highest paid ASVEL player was AJ Slaughter with a salary of 300 thousand.
Average salaries in Asia:
China. The CBA is considered one of the richest leagues in the world, and most importantly, it is watched by more than 500 million people. This means that you can just come, play and build a business.
Stephon Marbury did just that: he earned $12 million in six years with the Beijing Ducks and became such a star that a statue of him was erected in front of the former team's arena. He went into coaching before starting his own company and selling basketball shoes to kids who can't afford branded shoes. Bliss? Bliss. Legend and forever secured.
The average salary of a foreigner in the Chinese championship is from 1 to 3 million dollars. That is, 4-6 times higher than in the most wasteful country in Europe - Spain. Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, Steve Francis, Ron Artest received so much in China. But there are exceptions, for example, Lance Stevenson, who is paid 4 million by the Liaoning Flying Leopards. .
The difficulty is that teams are allowed to have only two foreign players. But there are 19 clubs in the CBA, so they're really spending a lot.
South Korea. The rules of the local championship provide for a limit on foreign players - there can be no more than two of them in each team. If there are two foreigners in the club, then the ceiling of their total salary is set at the level of 700 thousand dollars, and if there is one, then by 500 thousand. On average, a legionnaire in KBL receives 250-400 thousand dollars, which puts the Korean championship on the same level with Spain, Turkey and Russia in this indicator.
But this is official information. A whole scattering of Europrobasket sources indicates that, together with bonuses, salaries here can reach up to 800 thousand dollars, which means that only China pays more.
However, remember that if you want to play in Korea, then get ready for 3-4 practices a day.
Japan. In 2016, two leagues were united here, and now the championship is flourishing. First of all, this concerns salaries: the local players in the season before last received an average of 147 thousand dollars, the players of the Japanese national team - about 417 thousand. Today, the highest paid Japanese - Yuki Togashi - earns $ 1 million.
Legionnaires in Japan receive an average of 120 to 300 thousand dollars. Life in this country is expensive, but teams tend to take care of all the expenses of their basketball players.
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Salary: how much does a basketball player earn? | 1xmatch
Contents
NBA and the rest of the world
Very comfortable salaries in the Euroleague
France catches up in the top division
A professional basketball player is a dream job for many people. I must say that sport is primarily a passion and entertainment. Who didn't dream of becoming a professional athlete as a child? Probably not many people.
Financially, professional basketball players make good money. From 2,000 to 4,000,000 euros per month, depending on the championship. As with most professions, not everyone is in the same boat. The best earn much more money than the worst. This is logical, even if there are special cases. Employers, namely clubs, always do good and bad things. That is, players are underpaid based on their performance and impact on the field. Conversely, others are less productive than expected given their wages.
As you have already understood, playing basketball at a professional level is quite profitable. However, a professional basketball career is relatively short. On average, it lasts about ten seasons. An injury or other health problem can ruin an athlete's career. Professional basketball players must save and invest if they no longer want to work after announcing their retirement from the sport. It all depends on the expenses they have incurred and the financial rewards they have accumulated over the years.
The NBA and the rest of the world
The study ranked between them the most profitable championships on a global scale. At the top of the list, of course, we find the NBA. The North American Basketball Championship pays its athletes the best. Throughout the season, the minimum salary of an NBA basketball player is equivalent to the salary of an excellent Euroleague player. Therefore, the NBA attracts the best basketball players in the world. Superstars are paid tens of millions of euros every year. However, they are all sponsored by some of the most famous manufacturers of sports equipment: Nike, Adidas, Under Armor and Puma. Thus, with an equal salary, a basketball player will prefer the NBA to any other championship.
Very comfortable salaries in the Euroleague
The Euroleague is the second best basketball competition in the world. Every year it brings together the eighteen best teams in Europe. Including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan and Monaco. Many players who have gone through the NBA evolve there. Not all Euroleague teams have the same budgets. The financial impact force differs depending on the teams. Of course, the best basketball players prefer to join the club that will offer them the highest salary. In 2022 ten the highest paid Euroleague basketball players earn from 1 to 5 million euros per year.
France catch up in the top flight
The French top flight has long struggled to attract strong talent. With a significant increase in the budgets of the LDLC ASVEL and Monaco locomotives, as well as the rise of Paris to the elite, this era is over. French teams can compete sportively and financially with Euroleague formations. At ASM, American Mike James will earn a seven-figure salary between 2021 and 2022. The absolute record of the championship of France.
In the lower divisions financial abundance is far away. Pro B clubs offer comfortable but not enough rewards to then hope to live without a job after 40 years.
which it is paid out.
70
95
Simple math calls for 60-seconds to be multiplied by 48 total minutes played per game, with the end result being multiplied by an 82-game season. 60-seconds multiplied by 48-minutes multiplied by 82-games gives us a total of 236,160 maximum seconds played in an NBA season without any overtime play. Dividing this number by a player’s salary will give us the amount an individual player earns per second of an NBA season.
84
With players collecting such large amounts of money annually, one must wonder how do NBA players Get Paid? NBA Players get paid on the 15th of every month with a majority of NBA players getting direct deposits from their team.
An example of this was the late great Kobe Bryant, who made headlines as he received a $24.3 million cheque for 80% of his salary in 2013.
For example, Alexei Shved ($4 million last season, this amount may differ), Mike James and Nikola Milutinov (2.5 million each). But the average salary in the United League is about 200-450 thousand dollars per year. 
The average salary here is from 150 to 250 thousand, although Nick Calathes received 2.25 million in Pao last season, and Kostas Sloukas is now in Olya - 1.8 million. 
The CBA is considered one of the richest leagues in the world, and most importantly, it is watched by more than 500 million people. This means that you can just come, play and build a business. 
But there are 19 clubs in the CBA, so they're really spending a lot. 
Today, the highest paid Japanese - Yuki Togashi - earns $ 1 million. 
The Russians lost to Italy Kirilenko: there was no leader in the national team who could take over the game in the match with the Italians Bazarevich: the Russian national basketball team must win the remaining matches of the European Championship selection Thomas Robinson joins Bahcesehir The Russian national team lost to the Italian team in the EuroBasket qualifier Kirilenko: Vorontsevich can play in any Euroleague club Vorontsevich: in matches for the Russian national team showed how I can play .
.. 
Khimki - University-Ugra - 102-78 Friendly match. Khimki - University-Ugra - 74-81 BC Khimki held a seminar for children's coaches Young basketball players from the DPR visited BC Khimki 
I must say that sport is primarily a passion and entertainment. Who didn't dream of becoming a professional athlete as a child? Probably not many people. 
It all depends on the expenses they have incurred and the financial rewards they have accumulated over the years. 
Including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan and Monaco. Many players who have gone through the NBA evolve there. Not all Euroleague teams have the same budgets. The financial impact force differs depending on the teams. Of course, the best basketball players prefer to join the club that will offer them the highest salary. In 2022 ten the highest paid Euroleague basketball players earn from 1 to 5 million euros per year. 
