The 2024-25 NBA season is fast approaching as teams are finalizing their rosters ahead of the new campaign. Given the salary cap, multiple luxury tax aprons and various types of contracts available to teams, the NBA's salary structures can get confusing. What follows is a look at NBA salaries, and what the average salary will be for the upcoming season.
What is the average NBA salary for the 2024-25 season?
Given the contracts signed so far, the average annual salary for NBA players during the 2024-25 season will be $11,910,649, according to Basketball Reference. That's up from the $9.7 million from the 2023-24 season.
There is a massive gap between the lowest and highest-paid players in the NBA. The minimum salary for an NBA player during the upcoming campaign will be $1,157,153. The highest-paid player in the league will be Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who will make $55.76 million for the 2024-25 season.
To add to that, there are five players set to make more than $50 million during the upcoming campaign. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will both make $51.42 million, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant is due $51,18 million and Suns guard Bradley Beal will make $50.2 million.
If that wasn't enough, 27 players will make more than $40 million during the 2024-25 campaign. And, as of now, 16 players are scheduled to rise above the $50 million more during the 2025-26 season, with Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis breaking the $60 million per year barrier.
What is the median NBA salary for 2024-25
Examining the average NBA salary isn't the best way to gauge what everyone in the league makes. The salaries on the upper end are so large, they skew the results. The median salary represents the middle point of all salaries in the league, which seems like a better gauge.
For the 2024-25 season, the median NBA salary is $6,696,429, according to Basketball Reference. That is easily the largest median salary in the four major professional sports leagues.
Who has the biggest contract in the NBA?
Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown currently has the biggest total contract in the NBA. His deal is also the largest in NBA history. After the 2022-23 season, Brown signed a five-year, $304 million contract extension that will start during the 2024-25 season. Due to NBA salary cap dynamics, the overall value of the deal will fluctuate a bit and is currently worth $288.3 million. That can change over time depending on how high the league's salary cap is set because Brown's deal has him making 35% of the salary cap in its first year.
Brown is set to make $49.7 million for the upcoming campaign, then $53.7 million for the 2025-26 season, $57.7 million for the 2026-27 season, $61.6 million for 2027-28 and $65.6 million for 2028-29. While that deal will surely be surpassed soon
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