The business of the NBA continues to flourish.
As more revenue flows into the NBA from ticket sales, TV contracts and merchandise, player salaries have spiked. The NBA has seen its revenue quadruple to $10 billion over the past 20 years, according to Statista, and during that time the average player salary jumped to $3.9 million from $2.3 million.
As the average player salary increased, so have salaries for top players. The highest-paid player in the NBA in 2002 was Kevin Garnett at $22.4 million, and today the player with the largest annual contract makes more than double that amount.
And the highest-paid players in the NBA today make more than $100 million annually when taking into account their off-court earnings. Here are the top 10 biggest earners in the NBA according to estimates from Forbes:
Tie-10. Nikola Jokic, $54.6 million
Jokic, 28, is a newly minted NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets and has won two Most Valuable Player Awards. The Serbian center has endorsements deals with Panini and Western Union
WU
,
and is famously known in NBA circles for owning racehorses.
- On-court earnings: $47.6 million
- Off-court earnings: $7 million
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Tie-10. Paul George, $54.6 million
The Los Angeles Clippers forward has dealt with injuries the last few seasons, but is back to full health in 2023. George, 33, has endorsement deals with American Express
AXP
,
2K Sports, Gatorade, and is one of five players who have a signature shoe deal with Nike.
- On-court earnings: $45.6 million
- Off-court earnings: $9 million
9. Jimmy Butler, $55.2 million
The 34-year old Butler led the Miami Heat to an NBA Finals appearance last season, and is one of the top off-court earners in the league. Butler is the founder of the Big Face coffee brand, which he famously sold from his hotel room during the NBA’s “bubble” season in 2020 during the early part of the coronavirus pandemic for $20 a cup, and has endorsement deals with Chinese shoemaker Li-Ning, Anheuser-Bush InBev
BUD
,
TAG Heuer and Google
GOOG
.
- On-court earnings: $45.2 million
- Off-court earnings: $10 million
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Tie-7. James Harden $57.6 million
The Philadelphia Sixers guard is currently in a contract dispute with his team, but that hasn’t stopped him from being near the top of NBA earners. Harden, 34, has endorsement deals with Gopuff, Autograph, Panini, and has one of the richest shoe contracts in the NBA — his Adidas
ADS
shoe contract is worth as much as $200 million over 13 years.
- On-court earnings: $35.6 million
- Off-court earnings: $22 million
Tie-7. Joel Embiid, $57.6 million
Harden’s teammate Joel Embiid is the reigning MVP of the league. Embiid, 29, recently exited his shoe contract with Under Armour
UAA
and signed a deal with Skechers, a casual shoe brand that will now make performance basketball shoes, this season.
Embiid also has endorsements with 2k Sports and Google.
- On-court earnings: $47.6 million
- Off-court earnings: $10 million
See also: Magic Johnson says not signing with Nike as a rookie cost him $5 billion: He ‘didn’t even know what’ stocks were
6. Klay Thompson, $61.2 million
The five-time champion with the Golden State Warriors has an impressive endorsement portfolio. He has deals with the Chinese shoe brand Anta, healthcare network Kaiser Permanente and watchmaker Tissot and Dapper Labs.
- On-court earnings: $43.2 million
- Off-court earnings: $18 million
5. Damian Lillard, $63.6 million
Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in the offseason after spending his entire career with the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard, 33, has endorsements with brands including Adidas, Bose and Modelo, and has nearly a half million monthly listeners on Spotify
SPOT
to his music under the rapper name Dame D.O.L.L.A.
- On-court earnings: $45.6 million
- Off-court earnings: $18 million
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, $85.6 million
The two-time NBA MVP for the Bucks is one of the top players in the league, and he is compensated well for it. Antetokounmpo, 28, has a signature shoe deal with Nike
NKE
,
and endorses Epic Games, Google and JBL.
- On-court earnings: $45.6 million
- Off-court earnings: $40 million
See also: Tom Brady wants to buy part of the Raiders, but NFL owners are blocking the deal
3. Kevin Durant, $91.4 million
Durant, 35, is hoping to lead the Phoenix Suns this season to the franchise’s first title. Durant has signed $499 million worth of NBA contracts in his career and has a roughly $300 million endorsement deal with Nike. He also has deals with 2K Sports and Activision.
The Suns star is also known as a savvy investor. With his venture capital investment firm Thirty-Five Ventures, Durant has made impressive early investments in companies such as Coinbase
COIN
,
Acorns, Dapper Labs and the Uber-owned
UBER
Postmates.
- On-court earnings: $46.4 million
- Off-court earnings: $45 million
2. Steph Curry, $101.9 million
The 35-year-old Curry is viewed as one of the best basketball players of this generation and perhaps the best pure shooter of all time. Curry’s 2023 earnings have hit 9-figures thanks to his NBA contract and endorsements with Callaway Golf, CarMax
KMX
,
Google, Rakuten
4755
and JPMorgan Chase
JPM
.
Curry also has a deal with Under Armour, and is the face of their basketball shoe brand. That deal is worth $215 million, per CNBC, and includes $75 million of equity in the apparel brand.
Curry’s investment firm SC30 Inc. has put money into several successful startups, including at-home workout equipment company Tonal, as well as esports organization TSM.
- On-court earnings: $51.9 million
- Off-court earnings: $50 million
1. LeBron James, $117.6 million
For the ninth consecutive year, James is the top earner in the NBA.
James, 38, has a business empire that is too long to list in its entirety. In addition to his lifetime Nike contract that could be valued at $1 billion, James has had several successful business deals including investing in Beats by Dre prior to its sale to Apple
AAPL
,
acquiring equity in English football club Liverpool F.C., and investing in fast food chain Blaze Pizza.
James also has endorsement deals with Pepsi Co.
PEP
,
Sony
SONY
,
Calm and Crypto.com. And James has a burgeoning media empire with his production company Spring Hill Entertainment, content brand Uninterrupted, and he has appeared in films including Space Jam: A New Legacy and Trainwreck.
James became the first active athlete in the four major American sports to become a billionaire last year.
on-court earnings: $47.6 million
off-court earnings: $70 million
The NBA season tips off on Tuesday night when the Lakers visit the Denver Nuggets at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Read on: Deion Sanders is making a lot of people around him and the University of Colorado rich
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