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How much do china basketball players make
How Much Do Overseas Basketball Players Make?
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When it comes to a basketball league, we think of the NBA. This professional basketball tournament attracts the attention of spectators around the world thanks to its sublime matches.
It is every player’s dream to be here. Part of the reason is thanks to the salary and benefits for NBA players. However, overseas basketball leagues are also gradually proving their potential and more and more players are joining here.
How much do overseas basketball players make? Overseas basketball players can receive an average wage from zero to $4 million a year.
There are many factors that affect the salary and amount an overseas basketball player can receive. If you still want to learn more, continue reading this article by Scott Fujita.
Overseas basketball salaries
Contents
How Much Do Overseas Basketball Players Make A Year?
While the number of players specified for NBA teams is limited, playing basketball overseas is optimal for players to find opportunities for themselves. Each country has its own rules and ways of paying its professional basketball players.
Many countries in Europe pay average salaries between $60k and $500k per season for a player playing in the top tier. Some Asian countries like Korea or Japan are also willing to pay a similar amount from $120k to $400k a season.
View more: How much do NBA players make
China has the most generous payouts, ranging from $1 million to $3 million a season. The rest of the world pays more modest salaries, ranging from $2k to $20k.
Remember, these numbers are only valid when you enter a top professional basketball division.
Through our research, we have identified two main factors that influence the payment ability of players in overseas basketball leagues. These include:
The economic potential of the country.
The growth and popularity of basketball for that country.
To learn more about salaries at most overseas basketball leagues, check out this video.
Do Overseas Basketball Players Pay Taxes?
The good news for those who want to play basketball professionally overseas is that you won’t need to pay taxes on your earnings. It is the most apparent difference between the contract of an NBA player and an overseas player.
The basketball player’s team is the unit responsible for paying tax on that individual’s income. The salary you see on the contract is roughly what you can expect. Meanwhile, NBA players often have to spend half of their salary to pay related expenses and taxes.
Top 8 Highest Paying Overseas Basketball Leagues In 2021
The salary of a professional basketball player in different leagues will fluctuate significantly. Not only that, but the leagues also present an income gap between the average player and the highest-paid player. To learn more about league-specific salaries, follow the next section.
#1. Chinese Basketball Association
Chinese Basketball Association
The 2020-21 season marks the agreement on a new salary cap by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Basketball clubs at CBA can pay between 20-40 million yuan ($3-6.72 million) for Chinese players born in the country. Each team can have up to four foreign players and limit their salaries to no more than $7 million.
Related: Charles barkley net worth
Salary ranges are marked from A to E, with D being the maximum salary. Usually, overseas players will receive compensation of between 1 and 3 million dollars per year.
The season at the CBA also has a shorter playing time of just six months. Compared to the marathon race that lasts from 8 to 9 months in the European seasons, the competition conditions are good.
All of the above reasons have made CBA, apart from the NBA, one of the world’s most attractive overseas basketball leagues.
#2. EuroLeague
EuroLeague
The EuroLeague is the dream destination of any professional basketball player overseas thanks to its premium remuneration. The average European basketball salaries are pretty impressive, ranging from $500k – $800k per season. The best players can achieve a max salary of up to 4 million dollars per season.
FC Barcelona’s Nikola Mirotic leads the list of the highest-paid basketball players at the EuroLeague, receiving $4 million per year. Following him is Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes, with $3.7 million per year.
Related: How much do NBA refs make
The sponsor for this sports tournament is Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. The tournament features 16 teams. They include Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Anadolu Efes, Olympiacos, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Valencia Basket, Baskonia, Zalgiris, Zenit Saint Petersburg, among others.
The EuroLeague schedule starts in October and ends in May every year.
#3. Spain Liga ACB
Liga ACB
Liga ACB is the premier professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. It consists of 18 teams. The most prestigious tournament teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Kirolbet Baskonia also compete in the EuroLeague. They are also the teams that pay the best for basketball players.
The average salary that a basketball player can receive at ACB is from $250k to $500k per season. The highest-paid European basketball players are Walter Tavares and Sergio Llull. Each pocketed more than $2 million per season.
Many ACB teams have one or more NBA players on their roster.
#4. Turkish Basketball Super League
Basketball Super League
Turkey’s top professional men’s basketball league is the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL). Top BSL contenders such as Fenerbahçe Beko and Anadolu Efes also competed in the EuroLeague.
Each BSL team can recruit up to eight overseas basketball players and use up to six players per match.
Salaries for foreign, non-Turkish players at BSL are typically between $250k and $450k per season. The highest-paid player is Anadolu Efes’ Shane Larkin, with a $2.6 million salary excluding taxes.
#5. Russian VTB United
VTB United
The VTB United is the leading national basketball league in Russia. They offer an excellent average salary between $200k and $450k per year. Depending on the player’s status, an overseas basketball player’s maximum pay is $4 million.
In fact, Europe’s highest-paid stars now mostly come from Russia. Alexey Shved, Nikola Milutinov, and Mike James all make $2.5 million per season.
It is worth noting that Alexey Shved played in the NBA for three years before returning to Russia. Brooklyn Nets currently hire Mike James as a free agent.
Given their stature and fame, we can easily see why the average Euro basketball salaries are so high.
#6. Germany Basketball Bundesliga
Basketball Bundesliga
The German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) is another foreign league that pays players well. They have 18 teams with budgets as low as $10 million. Bayern Munich is the team with the most significant budget, $25 million.
Playing overseas at BBL will bring in an average salary of $100K to $350K per season. NBA first-round superstars like Greg Monroe can pocket around $1 million per season.
#7. Italian Lega Basket Serie A
Lega Basket Serie A
Basketball, surprisingly, is quite a popular sport in Italy. The Lega Basket Serie A (Serie A) is the biggest tournament with the participation of 17 teams. Each team offers an average salary ranging from $180K to $350K per year for an overseas basketball player.
For players with superstar status, he will be offered a higher salary. The highest-paid basketball player in Serie A is Sergio Rodriguez. He gets $2 million a year, the highest salary in the league.
#8. France LNB Pro A
LNB Pro A
Founded in 1921 with 18 teams, the LNB Pro A is still France’s most prestigious basketball tournament today. The defending champion ASVEL is also the most successful team in the game.
An overseas basketball player can earn an average salary at LNB between $80k and $200k per season. A.J Slaughter of ASVEL was the highest-paid basketball player of the 2019-20 season with $300k.
Many successful NBA players, such as Ian Mahinmi and Tony Parker, have emerged from the club over the past 15 seasons. This league is considered one of the financially safe places to play professional basketball abroad.
Final Thoughts
With an average NBA salary of $6.2 million per year, the NBA league is a mecca for professional basketball players. However, they can still find attractive opportunities at overseas teams as basketball becomes more and more popular. When receiving an attractive salary, they are also subject to many expectations and pressure from the team and the fans.
Whether you want to become the highest-paid NBA player or an overseas player, the prerequisite is that you have a stable form and continuous learning.
Thank you for reading!
American basketball players share tales of what it's really like to play in China
Jan 17, 2017
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It wasn't too long ago that outsiders considered the Chinese Basketball Association one of the great unknowns in professional sports.
But in recent years, especially since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the CBA has emerged as a viable option for borderline NBA players or veterans looking to extend their careers.
Case in point: Former New York Knicks star Stephon Marbury, who earned more than $150 million in 13 NBA seasons. He jumped to the CBA in 2010, won three championships and became beloved in China. The erstwhile lottery pick now has a small museum and a statue dedicated to him in Beijing, and a postage stamp in his honor. He also appeared in a theatrical production that portrayed his life story, and a movie is in production.
Word of Marbury's larger-than-life success abroad quickly spread among American players, and dozens of them have followed him to China. Former NBA players Carlos Boozer, Jimmer Fredette and J.J. Hickson are playing in the CBA this season.
CBA teams haven't been shy about luring foreign players with fat paychecks. While accurate salary figures are difficult to obtain, anecdotal evidence suggests Americans often can earn more in China than in any other league, aside from the NBA. The average salary of foreigners is reportedly climbing upward of $500,000, and $1 million deals are now common. Former Washington Wizards big man Andray Blatche reportedly earns $2.5 million per season on his current deal with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.
Stephon Marbury is surrounded by fans and photographers after helping the Beijing Ducks win the 2014 Chinese Basketball Association championship. AP Photo
It's not NBA money for the most part, but it's definitely an attractive payday for a league that plays a 38-game regular season over the course of five months.
With all that in mind, we tapped five Americans to share some of their experiences of what it's really like to play pro basketball in China.
Randolph Morris: 'A tremendous experience'
Morris, a former standout at the University of Kentucky who played in the NBA with the Knicks and Atlanta Hawks, has enjoyed one of the finest CBA careers of any American. He's playing in his seventh season with the Beijing Ducks, having joined the franchise in 2010.
"It's been a tremendous experience -- not just basketball, but culturally, very enriching and giving me a new perspective on the world that we live in," Morris said. "So overall, [it was] a pretty good decision to take that leap."
Morris averaged 29.9 points and 12.2 rebounds in his first season with Beijing and has hovered right around 25 points and 10 rebounds over the course of his CBA career. Morris said the quality of CBA play is already good and continuing to improve, which surprises some Americans who come over expecting to produce eye-popping numbers.
Randolph Morris has been part of three CBA championship teams for Beijing, along with Marbury. Morris was MVP of the 2014 finals. VCG/VCG/Getty Images
"They come here, and they think it's just going to be easy and they're going to average 30 or 40 points," Morris said. "It's very difficult. It's not that easy to just come over here and dominate. You can't cheat the game and think you're not going to put the work in and you're going to dominate just by being American."
As one of the longest-tenured Americans in the CBA, Morris is able to reflect on the recent evolution of basketball in China. He has seen a notable rise in attendance, a great increase in financial resources and considerable upgrades in arenas and facilities. Morris said he's proud to have played a role in that advancement and appreciates the opportunities he has received in China.
"That's one of the cool things I've gotten to see is the steady growth and being a part of that growth, knowing that we had a profound impact on the basketball scene," Morris said. "We can look back and say, 'We were here before it got huge. We were [part of] the grassroots process.' "
Jordan Crawford: 'They really rely on you'
Remember when a young college player dunked on LeBron James during a summer basketball camp in 2009 and Nike confiscated videotapes of the incident, purportedly to keep embarrassing footage of its star pitchman under wraps? That player was Crawford, a sophomore at Xavier University who would go on to be an NBA first-round draft pick a year later. The Detroit native then played four seasons in the NBA, suiting up for the Hawks, Wizards, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.
In 2014, his career path led to China, where he signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers for a reported $2 million.
"I was intrigued by, of course, the money, and the span of the season," Crawford said. "But from a basketball standpoint, I was intrigued because they really rely on you. I wanted to see how good I really was. They want the Americans to be the best players on the floor."
Crawford played in only five games with Xinjiang, scoring 49 points in his last game before returning to the United States with a severe eye infection. Still, the veteran shooting guard made enough of an impression for Tianjin to bring him in last season, and he rewarded the Gold Lions by leading the league in scoring at 43.1 points per game.
Jordan Crawford last appeared in the NBA with the Warriors in 2014. Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports
Crawford made headlines back in the States in January 2016 by racking up 72 points and 16 rebounds in a game.
Crawford said American stars are treated "like royalty" in China and that some teams offer perks unlikely to granted in the NBA. For example, he asked if younger brother Jalen, a rapper who performs under the name Willie Mac Jr., could perform at halftime of a Tianjin game. The team obliged.
"That was dope," Crawford said. "It was cool. They liked it."
Food, however, was another matter entirely.
"They just kind of throw you into the fire and expect you to eat live fish and go play!" Crawford said with a laugh. "You're in the hotel, and basically they have like five or six plates of octopus -- stuff you're not going to eat. You can go a day or two without eating, and they expect you to play the game?"
So what's the most unusual thing Crawford ate in China?
"The stuff you think is chicken that's not chicken!" he said. "Everything else, the time, the money, you can't complain."
Crawford is playing for the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League this season.
Shavlik Randolph: 'Offers were just staggering'
Like a number of Americans, Randolph was first lured to the CBA during the 2011 NBA lockout. With the possibility of losing most or all of the season, many players looked abroad, with Europe and China providing the most lucrative options.
"Compared to the leagues in Europe at the time, China was just offering so much more money," Randolph said. "The offers were just staggering per month compared to what Europe was offering. ... Plus, a lot of players that I had played with and against in the NBA had signed in China. That made me feel more comfortable that I was going to know players over there. "
Randolph, who played sparingly in his first five NBA seasons, remained in China after the lockout was resolved and routinely averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds in his first four CBA seasons. Because the CBA calendar spans only five months, players are able to finish seasons in the NBA -- something the former Duke University product did in 2013 and 2014.
Shavlik Randolph has played for three CBA teams, including the Liaoning Flying Leopards last year. VCG/VCG/Getty Images
Officiating is a sensitive topic among Americans playing in China. Some have called it downright horrible. Former NBA star Tracy McGrady harshly criticized referees in 2013 and was suspended for a game after calling one crew "three blind mice." When asked about the CBA officiating, Randolph was relatively diplomatic.
"The officiating over there makes me really appreciate the officials in the NBA and be able to confidently say they are the best officials in the world," Randolph said with a laugh. "It makes me appreciate the skill set that they have much better. So to answer your question, the officiating isn't really up to par."
Last season, Randolph played in Liaoning, which lost to Sichuan in the CBA finals. The team put its players up in a hotel during the playoffs, even for home games. One night, he was bored and decided to get out for a change of scenery. Before long, hundreds of fans surrounded him, and he had to be escorted back to the hotel by police, who then asked him not to leave because of the commotion it created.
"It's absolutely crazy," said Randolph, who returned to play in Liaoning this season. "I'm not going to lie -- it kind of felt good. It felt cool, but I don't think I'd want that to happen every time I went out in public."
Shelden Williams: Difficult to be away
Williams has a different perspective on playing abroad than most players.
The former Duke standout, who played in the NBA for six seasons, competed in the CBA during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. At that time, his wife, WNBA star Candace Parker, was playing for a Russian pro team, and they could see each other only a couple of times during the season. Parker would visit Williams in Tianjin for Christmas, and he would visit her in Russia during the Chinese New Year holiday. Although their daughter, Lailaa, who is now 7, was in good hands with Parker's mother back in the States while her parents were overseas, the absence was understandably difficult for all involved.
"It's always hard to leave my little girl," said Williams, who is now a scout for the Brooklyn Nets. "[Until] last year, I had been away from her eight months every year of her life. At that point, we're trying to do what's best for our little girl and make sure that she's financially stable when she gets older."
That's why the CBA presented a better opportunity for Williams than returning to the Euroleague, where he had played for French club Chalon-Sur-Saone in 2012-13.
A photo posted by Shelden Williams (@sheldenwilliams) on
"The money was good, and it was half the time," Williams said. "So I was able to get back to my daughter a lot faster than if I was playing in the NBA or Europe. That was my main thing, to be able to make money and still have time to be with her."
Williams played alongside longtime NBA point guard Sebastian Telfair with the Tianjin Gold Lions in 2013-14 and helped them reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
CBA teams are allowed to employ only two American players at a time, and league rules also place restrictions on playing time for international players. Williams said this meant the Lions would typically play Telfair in the first quarter, him in the second quarter and both of them in the third and fourth quarters.
Although the level of play in China is on the rise, Williams said the CBA will remain a notch below European basketball as long as those regulations remain in place.
"You can't have that if you're trying to be a top-tier league," Williams said. "As far as Euroleague, you might have four or five guys who aren't native to that country playing for a team, and they can play as much as they want. "
Josh Akognon: 'How LeBron and Kobe feel'
There are few, if any, American athletes more qualified to speak about playing in China than Akognon.
The Cal State Fullerton alum, who played briefly in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, has played for five CBA franchises in six seasons while averaging 29.6 points per game.
Akognon makes no qualms about what convinced him to go China. It was purely a business decision when he signed with Dongguan after weighing offers from European clubs in 2010.
"I'd never heard of the CBA, but when they told me the money, then you start looking at everything else," Akognon said. "I realized that Marbury was playing there, so I started looking at it more. ... As long as they said that money was where it was at, I was sold, and I was ready to go."
Josh Akognon's international experience isn't limited to China; he played for Nigeria, his father's homeland, at the Rio Olympics. Jeff Swinger/USA TODAY Sports
Akognon has also played professionally in Estonia, Serbia and Italy and is with Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas this season. The California native competed in the 2016 Olympics for Nigeria, where his father was born. He said that while the fan behavior in China can be crazy, it's still a far cry from the fervor exhibited by basketball die-hards in Europe. And that might be a good thing.
Akognon said that when he played for famed Serbian club Partizan, the team once had to take a circuitous 30-minute bus ride from the hotel to the arena across the street because the scene was too hectic to simply walk over to the venue.
"It's night and day between Europe and China," Akognon said. "China is like the NBA. People come to watch the game and get a little bit rowdy. But in Europe, it is really their lives."
That's not to say Akognon wasn't treated as a celebrity in China. He remembers one moment in particular, when he and his wife were walking around looking at Christmas lights in Dongguan. After a fan called out to him, Akognon waved back and then bent down to pick his young son up from his stroller. When Akognon looked up, hundreds of fans were gathering around him. Before long, police officers showed up to push Akognon and his family through the masses all the way back to his apartment.
"It lets you know how LeBron and Kobe feel all the time," Akognon said. "You get a taste of the type of life they have, which is very stressful if that happens all the time."
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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How much do NBA stars earn? Salary rating-2019 - Blogg on the floor - Blogs
We count other people's millions.
Many people know that the NBA has a salary cap. It is set at $109.14 million for the 2019/20 season.
But not everyone knows that the salary cap is directly tied to the league's revenue. And with it - the salaries of all players. Basketball players make millions of dollars because the NBA makes billions of dollars.
8.2 billion, to be exact, is how much the NBA expects to receive in the coming season in the form of BRI (basketball-related income). This BRI includes only $400-500 million converted from yuan, so don't worry: even a complete break in relations with China won't take more than five or six percent off the BRI.
Under the 2017 Collective Agreement between the league and the players union, 50%* of BRI goes to players in the form of wages.
* - actually not, but in order not to load the text with nuances, I will explain them in the comments.
There are 510 jobs in the league - each of the 30 teams can apply for 17 people.
51 NBA players - exactly 10% - will receive at least $20 million next season **.
** - and again I suggest going to the comments for those who want abstruseness.
The Gini coefficient and other indicators of financial inequality in the NBA as in a single economy look better than the global ones: if in the real world the richest 10% own 75-85% of all wealth (in the US - 70-75% according to various estimates ), then in the NBA, the top 10% earn only 35% of all salaries.
But even this 35% is more than one and a half billion dollars. Or, in other words, 1,655 NBA rookie minimum contracts.
Let's look at how this one and a half billion is distributed. For a round number, we will limit ourselves to the top 50 earning more than 20 million; The 51st player in the ranking with a salary of exactly 20 million is Indiana guard Malcolm Brogdon. If you go to the basketball section less than once a week, then most likely you don’t even know who it is. And he earns more than Aguero, James, Neuer or any Serie A player except Cristiano.
Who is not in this part of the rating? For example, Philadelphia's rising star Ben Simmons, who signed a five-year, $170 million contract this summer that won't take effect until a year later, is now playing on a "modest" $8 million rookie salary.
For the same reason, Utah leader Donovan Mitchell, Dallas' delightful Luka Doncic, or intimidating rookie Zion Williamson are not yet on the NBA's Most Valuable Players list. All of them still earn a fixed salary (depending on the number under which the player was taken in the draft), for which they need to play 4 seasons before claiming a luxurious life.
Who is in this part of the rating? Giannis. The current NBA MVP - and the future, according to some forecasts, too.
Greek-Frick didn't make it into the top 40 for a number of reasons, the main one being the NBA doesn't renegotiate existing contracts (with a few exceptions that are so rare that they don't even deserve an asterisk and a footnote in the commentary). Antetokounmpo signed his contract back in 2016, by that time the Greek had never played in the All-Star Game, averaging 17 points and playing as the main point guard of the very weak Bucks (49losses in a season).
And Giannis, not so long ago a beggar teenager who sold souvenirs on the streets of Athens and ran in patched sneakers, was so grateful that Milwaukee believed in him that he did not insist on a maximum contract, or even on a player option in the last year contract. He was told that he would receive $100 million, and he was stunned by this amount - and it does not matter that at the same time as him, Stephen Adams also signed for exactly the same contract, whom Oklahoma renewed only in a panic from losing Durant.
All in all, Antetokounmpo did great humanly but naively economically three years ago: Giannis has already lost $33 million by waiving his maximum wage and has also pushed back his possible free agency entry from 2020 to 2021.
That's why next year he will be so low in the rankings again. But then - hello to the biggest contract in the history of the NBA.
There are now only 32 people in the NBA with maximum contracts of (this number does not include DeRozan, whose salary was maximum only in the first two years of the contract, Horford and Love, who played at maximum levels a year ago, Vucevic, and Millsap and Middleton from the next group).
At the same time, almost everyone has different salaries.
How did it happen?
To answer this question, needs to understand how maximum contracts are formed .
Maximum contracts come in three levels depending on the player's experience:
up to 6 league seasons - 25% of ceiling;
7-9 seasons - 30%;
and more 10 - 35%
A player can jump up one category by becoming MVP, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, or making the All-Star Team of the Season. At the same time, all these 25, 30 and 35% form only the salary in the first season. For example, now 25% of the ceiling is the salary of Russell, Porzingis, Booker, Towns. The first two signed a contract this summer, and the last two lasted a year ago, just their agreements implied entry into force in 2019-m.
And then everything changes: Russell, who signed a contract with a new team, Golden State after Brooklyn, will have an annual increase of 5%. Towns, who lasted with Minnesota, has 8%. And next year their salaries will be different.
Other players signed maximum wages in other years when there was a different salary cap. Anthony Davis received 25% of the ceiling in 2016 (he could have received 30%, but he got injured in the key season 15/16 and did not make the team of the season). Then, when he moved to the Lakers, he voluntarily forfeited a trading bonus so the Los Angelesers could sign a third star this summer.
Voiceover: They couldn't.
So it turned out that Davis and three more maximum speeds in 2016 are not included in the top 30, since they are slightly behind the maximum contracts concluded later, in 2017-2019 - the growth rate of the ceiling and, consequently, the new maximum speeds were higher than the increase in their contracts .
Six people at once signed a new contract this year with a starting salary of 30% of the ceiling. And they are all different:
The strangest one is with Kyrie Irving: 1 million allocated in 8 bonuses, for which he needs to play in 70 games, hit 88.5% of free throws in a season, lose the ball no more than 2.4 times per game and so on. He did not achieve all this a year ago, and bonuses are not yet taken into account in his salary.
Tobias Harris will receive the maximum in the first year of his contract only, and will receive a total of 10 million less in the remaining seasons.
Clay Thompson signed up for 5 years.
Kemba Walker and Jimmy Butler - for 4 years, the only difference is a possible trading bonus in Kemba's contract.
Kawhi signed up for 3. And the third year is a player option, so he should be a free agent again in 2021.
Yes, it's strange to see Kawhi Leonard outside the top 10 - but he chose this path himself (as the last NBA finals showed - he did the right thing). If the forward did not change teams, but remained in San Antonio, then this season his salary would be the same as that of Harden or Durant. But he has a different financial mechanism turned on: better conditions for winning the championship + a large market for new advertising contracts = the opportunity to get much more than the extra 5-6 million a year in the club salary.
Did you really think there was no calculator built into Kawhi's operating system?
P.S. Interestingly, in the top 20 - only Americans, this has not happened since the implementation of the salary cap in 1984! A new generation of super-foreigners, constrained by the financial rules of the NBA, has not yet reached the old American star guard.
King James always wants to be at the top of the list. But he was the most expensive NBA player only once : in the 2016/17 season. Before that, the Miami discount to team up with Wade and Bosch, the move back to Cleveland on a one-year contract, the technical impossibility of reaching Kobe's maximum salary. And then Curry, who has been playing in one club all his career, took the lead - after all, the NBA salary rules reward those stars who do not change clubs: they get a slightly higher maximum salary, a little longer, a little earlier.
But LeBron was always pissed off about the concept of a maximum salary. Why should workers be capped by some sort of salary cap? Why can't he earn in the NBA as much as she earns on him? According to various statistical metrics, the benefit of LeBron in his peak years should have been paid by a contract of 70-80 million a year 2003, with a completely different salary cap.
Even now, LeBron James's salary would be much more than 37.4 million if there were no artificial restrictions in the NBA. Reference point? Let's take Cristiano Ronaldo. Similar age, status, achievements, popularity, the situation with the transition to another club, even advertising contracts they have about the same level of income. Ronaldo earns about 64 million a year from Juventus before taxes; LeBron, it turns out, almost half as much.
Nevertheless, LeBron will still be the first - in terms of total career earnings . In the upcoming season, he (307 million) will overtake Shaquille (286 million) and will be second only to Kobe Bryant (323 million) and Kevin Garnett (334 million), whom he will overtake in 2021. LeBron will earn almost $400 million in the NBA by the end of his career - and even more from advertising contracts. The dream of becoming a billionaire is getting closer.
Fans often demand strict logic in issuing maximum contracts. That they should only be given to MVPs or champions, that clubs shouldn't give big contracts to non-All-Star players, that only five/two/ten people/one LeBron/all 510 NBA players are eligible for the top salary.
Actually there is no logic.
The maximum contract, even the largest possible one (35% of the ceiling), can be obtained for real services to the club, like Harden - and still there will be people who consider his salary too high.
You can - for previous achievements. Kevin Durant will make over $38 million in a season without a game for Brooklyn due to a torn Achilles , but the Nets believe he can return to his former superstar level and add championship experience to the team.
Or you can - for vague promises to become a top player in the NBA, as was the case with John Wall. He sparkled in the second half of the 2016/17 season and made it to the NBA's third All-Star Five, which qualified him for a Supermax contract extension. And "Washington" then gave him this 170 million extension for 4 years, which is effective now.
Since signing, Wall has never played more than 50% of his season and, like Durant, will miss the 2019 season/20 whole. But in 2017, he was a rising star, soon to be the best defenseman in the conference, and was valued for a super max contract... 90,003 90,002 Or just the Washingtons. A team that hasn't played in an Eastern final for 40 years.
Westbrook and Paul are united not only by the fact that they were traded for each other in July, but also that since 2018 they have an identical salary. They were extended through different mechanisms, but came to the same numbers (although Westbrook has a contract for a year longer).
Why are their salaries higher than the Durant-Harden-Wall trio? Again, remember that the maximum salary depends on the ceiling, which grows unevenly . The annual salary increase is 8%, while the salary cap has increased by only 7.14% in the last year.
Contracts in the NBA, as already mentioned, are not reviewed - neither as a result of negotiations between the parties, nor by any automatic rules, so in a year Westbrook and Paul are entitled to 41 million, in two - 44 million each. And this figure will not change, even if all countries, including the United States, follow the example of China, turn their backs on the NBA, and the salary cap falls from 109million dollars to 109 million cents.
Next year, Durant, Harden, Wall, Paul and Westbrook will break the $40 million salary bar with their supermaxes. But they won't be the first.
Steph Curry won his first MVP and first title, being fourth in salary on his team, and 53rd in the league behind JaVale McGee, Larry Sanders and Andrea Bargnani.
Second MVP - fifth salary with the Warriors and 61st in the NBA, behind Amir Johnson, Demarre Carroll and Brandon Knight.
Second title - Curry is the 82nd highest paid in the NBA, and it's too long to list role players earning more. At the time, Curry's salary of $12 million was closer to the minimum (1.3 million) than the maximum (26.5 million).
Just before the third title, Stef was given the contract he deserved. The largest in history at that time - 201.2 million dollars.
The third season of this contract breaks the historic mark of $40 million. However, taking into account inflation, this is not a record, but only the third most expensive indicator.
Jordan has the first two, of course. His 30 million in the 96/97 season in today's dollars would be 49 million, and 33 million in 97/98 would be 54 million.
Following him is Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes, with $3.7 million per year.
The highest-paid European basketball players are Walter Tavares and Sergio Llull. Each pocketed more than $2 million per season.
Depending on the player’s status, an overseas basketball player’s maximum pay is $4 million.
Former NBA players Carlos Boozer, Jimmer Fredette and J.J. Hickson are playing in the CBA this season.
Morris was MVP of the 2014 finals. VCG/VCG/Getty Images
We were [part of] the grassroots process.' "
Still, the veteran shooting guard made enough of an impression for Tianjin to bring him in last season, and he rewarded the Gold Lions by leading the league in scoring at 43.1 points per game.
You can go a day or two without eating, and they expect you to play the game?"
"
"It makes me appreciate the skill set that they have much better. So to answer your question, the officiating isn't really up to par."
At that time, his wife, WNBA star Candace Parker, was playing for a Russian pro team, and they could see each other only a couple of times during the season. Parker would visit Williams in Tianjin for Christmas, and he would visit her in Russia during the Chinese New Year holiday. Although their daughter, Lailaa, who is now 7, was in good hands with Parker's mother back in the States while her parents were overseas, the absence was understandably difficult for all involved.
"So I was able to get back to my daughter a lot faster than if I was playing in the NBA or Europe. That was my main thing, to be able to make money and still have time to be with her."
"
The California native competed in the 2016 Olympics for Nigeria, where his father was born. He said that while the fan behavior in China can be crazy, it's still a far cry from the fervor exhibited by basketball die-hards in Europe. And that might be a good thing.
When Akognon looked up, hundreds of fans were gathering around him. Before long, police officers showed up to push Akognon and his family through the masses all the way back to his apartment.
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. 
25 million in Pao last season, and Kostas Sloukas is now in Olya - 1.8 million. 
This means that you can just come, play and build a business. 
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. 
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 - Barnaul 19:00 Happy birthday, Oleg Vladimirovich! Khimki is ready to start the season in the Superleague Happy birthday, Sergey Nikolaevich! Friendly match.
Khimki - University-Ugra - 102-78 
If you go to the basketball section less than once a week, then most likely you don’t even know who it is. And he earns more than Aguero, James, Neuer or any Serie A player except Cristiano. 
Antetokounmpo signed his contract back in 2016, by that time the Greek had never played in the All-Star Game, averaging 17 points and playing as the main point guard of the very weak Bucks (49losses in a season). 
But then - hello to the biggest contract in the history of the NBA. 
For example, now 25% of the ceiling is the salary of Russell, Porzingis, Booker, Towns. The first two signed a contract this summer, and the last two lasted a year ago, just their agreements implied entry into force in 2019-m. 
If the forward did not change teams, but remained in San Antonio, then this season his salary would be the same as that of Harden or Durant. But he has a different financial mechanism turned on: better conditions for winning the championship + a large market for new advertising contracts = the opportunity to get much more than the extra 5-6 million a year in the club salary. 
And then Curry, who has been playing in one club all his career, took the lead - after all, the NBA salary rules reward those stars who do not change clubs: they get a slightly higher maximum salary, a little longer, a little earlier. 
They were extended through different mechanisms, but came to the same numbers (although Westbrook has a contract for a year longer). 
