How much money do basketball players make overseas

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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.

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.

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:

To learn more about salaries at most overseas basketball leagues, check out this video.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Overseas Basketball Salaries By Country (A Breakdown)

Many think of the NBA as the be-all-end-all when it comes to professional basketball. The fact of the matter is that a lot of countries have pro leagues, and players can make a substantial living playing overseas.

How great of a living can they make? It depends on a lot of factors, but the low-end average salary if you get an overseas contract is around $50,000 a year.

There are several countries like Ireland where that number is way lower, although they offer other incentives to their players like room and board and part-time jobs when they aren’t playing.

Because overseas basketball is so widespread, the answer to the question “what is an average salary for an overseas player” is complicated.

Overseas Salaries By Country: A Breakdown

Playing overseas can mean a lot of different things. As we covered, if you are playing in Ireland, where pro basketball doesn’t have a high profile, you won’t become rich.

If you play elsewhere, like Spain or Russia, you could pull down a pretty penny being a pro hooper. Let’s break down some of the salaries depending on the country you play.

During the 2019-20 season, the three top European countries in terms of player salary were Spain, Turkey, and Russia.

Spain led the pack when it came to average salary at around $100K. In Asia, the average salary is similar to the top Euro leagues, but the best players had the chance to make several million US dollars in places like China.

To put that into perspective, let’s compare the top-paid player in the country’s most popular sport: soccer (futbol). Antoine Griezmann is a striker for FC Barcelona, one of the most decorated soccer teams in the world. He makes just over 30 million euros a year. That equals an annual salary of almost $34M US dollars!

Professional basketball will never be as popular as soccer in Europe and this comparison shows you the financial divide between the two sports.

So, what factors into a country’s ability to pay its players top-dollar? It boils down to two things: the sport’s popularity and just how financially secure the country is that you are playing.

Overseas Basketball: The Best of the Best

The best overseas league, in terms of talent and quality of play, is the Euroleague.

While Euroleague isn’t a standalone league, per se, it is a combination of the best European teams across every league. The most famous name to Americans who cut his teeth as a teenager in the Euroleague is Luka Doncic.

Doncic played for Barcelona’s basketball At the age of 18, Doncic won the Euroleague MVP Award, which put him on the map with diehard hoops fans.

We all know what happened afterward: Luka was drafted by the Dallas Mavs and has become the youngest player to lead the league in triple-doubles. Luka also won the Rookie of the Year Award and has already made two All-NBA teams before the age of 23!

Other NBA players who have taken their talents to the Euroleague are former Phoenix Suns great Amar’e Stoudamire, journeyman Luis Scola, and Nikola Mirotic (hold that thought).

Highest Paid Overseas Players

Did you know that the average NBA salary from the 2019-20 season was $7.7M?! Not bad for just being “average” (kidding!). Overseas leagues aren’t at that point financially, and probably will never be, but some guys certainly are earning a decent living.

Just a note before we hop into the list, most overseas leagues do not disclose player salaries like they do with US sports leagues. So, while these numbers aren’t a complete shot in the dark, it is difficult to know the exact salary numbers.

1. Nikola Mirotic, Barcelona ($4.5M/year)

Prior to joining the Chicago Bulls in the NBA in 2014, Nikola Mirotic had himself a career for Real Madrid from 2008 through 2013. He was a young up-and-comer for Real Madrid and was even a first-round draft pick of the Houston Rockets in 2011. His rights bounced around on draft night, finally stopping in Chicago, but Mirotic didn’t come to the league for another three years.

After a serviceable six-year NBA career, Mirotic went back to Europe where he signed a three-year deal with Barcelona.

Since returning to Europe, Mirotic has become a star, earning multiple MVP Awards.

2. Shane Larkin, Anadolu Efes ($3.7M/year)

Shane Larkin rose to prominence in college at the University of Miami. Never known really as a basketball power, Larkin’s two years saw great success. His sophomore season, the Hurricanes took home the ACC championship and Larkin was named ACC Player of the Year. As MLB Hall of Famer Barry Larkin’s son, Shane had big shoes to fill and he did just that in college.

Larkin got drafted after his sophomore year by the Atlanta Hawks, before being traded to the Mavericks on draft night. Larkin bounced around the league for the better part of five seasons – with a brief stop in Spain – playing for the Mavs, Knicks, Nets, and Celtics. His last, and most successful, has been with Anadolu Efes, where he has played since 2018.

Larkin has been one of the top European players since making his debut. He helped Anadolu Efes make the Euroleague Final Four in 2019 and has been racking up the stats ever since.

3. Vasilje Micic, Anadolu Efes ($3M/year)

Larkin’s teammate, Vasilje Micic is arguably the best player in Europe right now and his team pays him nicely to keep the NBA suitors at bay. The two-time All-Euroleague selection, along with Larkin, is a big reason his squad was crowned the 2021 Euroleague champs. Micic took home a few personal accolades last season, winning both the Euroleague MVP and the Final Four MVP Awards.

While Micic has never played a minute in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder do own his draft rights. Micic was selected in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers before getting acquired by the Thunder in 2020. If Micic ever does make the trip across the pond to play in the NBA, his salary will surely increase.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to make a great living playing professional basketball in non-NBA leagues. While the NBA is the “gold standard”, it is the most competitive league in the world.

The popularity of world basketball was put on the map in large part when the USA’s Dream Team took the international stage at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

If you have ever seen any of the scores of their games, you know how one-sided they were.

The world, however, has gotten more competitive on the basketball court, and so have their leagues. Overseas players can really hoop, and their hefty salaries display that. The more exposure they get, through games being more available to stream on the internet, the more their leagues can pay them. Maybe one day, the Euroleague will even compete with the NBA for talent. Never say never.

Have any of your favorite players ever taken their talents overseas to play? Let us know about it in the comments section!

American Forbes named the 10 highest paid NBA players of the 2019/2020 season. The rating was headed by LeBron James, whose income this year reached a record. As before, NBA stars earn much more from advertising than on the basketball court.0016

NBA players' wages have skyrocketed in recent years. However, outside the basketball court, NBA stars still earn much more. LeBron James is the highest paid player in the NBA for the 2019/2020 season. During his 16-year professional career in the NBA, the Lakers forward earned $ 270 million, but advertising contracts brought him twice as much money. In 12 seasons in the NBA, Kevin Durant earned $187 million, which is nothing compared to his $275 million fee from a ten-year sponsorship deal with Nike.

The most expensive sponsorship deals in the NBA. Forbes rating

LeBron James is the highest paid player in the NBA for the sixth year in a row. His combined contract with the Lakers and advertising contracts are estimated at $ 92 million. This is a real record for a basketball player who has not yet completed his professional career. The main sponsor of the athlete is Nike, which named the new research laboratory of its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, after the NBA star. Last month, James released his 17th collaboration with Nike, the signature LeBron XVII sneaker.

How LeBron James made his $450 million fortune

In 2019, James, who was named the MVP of the NBA regular season four times, signed several more advertising contracts. His new sponsors are suitcase manufacturer Rimowa and supermarket chain Walmart. The basketball player's partner portfolio also includes Coca-Cola, Beats By Dre headphones, Blaze Pizza and NBA 2K video games. In addition, the NBA star owns a small media company Uninterrupted and a production company SpringHill Entertainment, which in 2021, together with the film studio Warner Bros. will release a sequel to the comedy about the adventures of basketball player Michael Jordan “Space Jam” (Space Jam), released on screens in 1996 year. Forbes estimates that this season LeBron James earned $55 million from advertising and other projects.

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Recently, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet in support of the protests in Hong Kong, prompting a flurry of criticism from Chinese fans. LeBron James' comments on the scandal also show that all the league's managers and players are still in a vulnerable position as the political unrest in Hong Kong has not subsided so far. NBA commissioner Adam Silver supported Mori's right to free speech, but some players disagreed with him. They included the Los Angeles Lakers forward, who called Maury "misinformed" about the situation and "not very educated." Houston Rockets point guard James Harden said, "We love China."

How One Tweet Destroyed the NBA's Global Plans

It was a blunder for both media darlings with close ties to China. Sportswear company Adidas, James Harden's main sponsor, made more profits in China last year than in North America. And the Houston Rockets are the most popular team in China, since it was this basketball club that selected the Chinese Yao Ming with the first number in the 2002 rookie draft. Nike's revenue in China for the last fiscal year exceeded $6 billion. The Chinese market is now considered the most promising for the company's growth. At the same time, LeBron James has already traveled to China 15 times with representatives of Nike, as the sports giant pays James more than $ 30 million annually just to advertise Nike products around the world.

The threat of losing such an important market could negatively impact NBA clubs.

In America, however, the league's performance remains stable, which has a positive effect on player salaries. NBA wages are skyrocketing, driven largely by nine-year, $24 billion deals with ESPN and TNT signed in 2014. As stated in the collective bargaining agreement between basketball players and league officials, NBA players are entitled to up to 51% of the NBA's "basketball income". Thanks to lucrative NBA contracts with TV channels and new international projects, 46 players will earn at least $25 million this season, according to Spotrac. No NBA player has previously been able to boast such a salary. Also, unlike NFL players, basketball players always get their money's worth.

The 10 highest paid players in the NBA 2019. Forbes ranking

Stephen Curry ranked second. He is expected to earn $85 million this season, of which $45 million will come from his sponsorship deals and other projects. The main sponsor of the basketball player is the sports company Under Armor.

Stephen Curry with the Golden State Warriors earns $40.2 million, the highest salary in NBA history. In 2017, the player signed a five-year contract worth $201 million with the club. He is now playing for the Warriors in his third season. The point guard also owns a production company called Unanimous Media, which has a partnership with Sony Pictures. The company's first film was Breakthrough, which was released in April this year. Stephen Curry played a significant role in the advertising campaign for this American Christian drama. On a budget of $14 million, the film grossed $50 million at the box office.

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Kevin Durant holds the second largest annual sponsorship deal in the NBA. It is expected to net the Brooklyn Nets forward $26 million. Forbes estimates Kevin Durant's total net worth will be $73 million. According to his business partner Rich Kleiman, Nike sells more KD signature sneakers in China than in North America.

Kevin Durant also has his own production company. She's working on a new drama series to watch on AppleTV+. The series is largely dedicated to the childhood of the basketball player and his career path.

Translated by Polina Shenoeva

Zhong Zhi Getty Images

1. LeBron James

Total income: $ 92.4 million

Salary: $ 37.4 million

Advertising contracts: $ 55 million

How much money do basketball players make overseas

How Much Do Overseas Basketball Players Make?

Overseas Basketball Salaries By Country (A Breakdown)

Overseas Salaries By Country: A Breakdown

Overseas Basketball: The Best of the Best

Highest Paid Overseas Players

1. Nikola Mirotic, Barcelona ($4.5M/year)

2. Shane Larkin, Anadolu Efes ($3.7M/year)

3. Vasilje Micic, Anadolu Efes ($3M/year)

Final Thoughts

1. LeBron James

2 Stephen Curry

4. Russell Westbrook

6. Kyrie Irving

9. Giannis Antetokounmpo

How much players in different leagues receive.

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