Who Makes More Money: NFL or NBA?
We take a look at the salaries of NFL and NBA players to see who makes more money on average.
NFL
The average NFL team is worth $2.57 billion, compared to the average NBA team value of $1.65 billion. In the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable franchise at $5.5 billion. In the NBA, the New York Knicks are the most valuable franchise at $4 billion. NFL teams generate an average of $377 million in revenue, while NBA teams generate an average of $339 million in revenue.
Revenue
The NFL generates more revenue than any other sports league in the world. In 2018, the league generated $8 billion in revenue, while the NBA generated $7.4 billion. The NFL’s revenue is largely generated by its television contracts. In 2018, the league generated $3.3 billion from its TV contracts, while the NBA generated $2.6 billion. The NFL also generates a significant amount of revenue from its merchandising and licensing deals. In 2018, the league generated $1.6 billion from these deals, while the NBA generated $1.1 billion.
Salary Cap
In the NFL, a team’s total salary cannot exceed $167 million. The actual amount of the salary cap varies from year to year, depending on league revenue. In 2019, for example, the salary cap was $188.2 million. Each team must stay under (or at) the salary cap at all times, which means that they have to carefully manage their spending on players’ salaries.
In the NBA, there is no hard salary cap. Instead, there is a “soft” salary cap, which means that teams can exceed the cap if they are willing to pay a luxury tax. In 2019-2020, the luxury tax threshold was $132 million. If a team’s payroll exceeds that amount, they have to pay a penalty of $1 for every $1 they are over the threshold.
Television Deals
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, the highest professional level of American football in the world, the headquartered in New York City. In terms of average per game attendance and complement of television viewers, it is one of the most popular sports leagues in America.
The NFL’s executive officer is the commissioner, who has broad authority in governing the league. The current NFL commissioner is Roger Goodell, who was elected in 2006 to succeed Paul Tagliabue. The league is divided into two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC), each of which have four divisions that contain four teams each for a total of 16 clubs in each conference. A club’s standing gets determined at the end of every season—in recent history this has taken place during what is called “the NFL playoffs”.
NBA
The average NBA player salary is $7.7 million per year, while the average NFL player salary is $2.7 million per year. NBA players make more money than NFL players.
Revenue
The NBA generates more revenue than the NFL. In 2019, the NBA generated $8.8 billion in revenue, while the NFL generated $8.1 billion. The NBA has been the more profitable league for a number of years now, and that trend looks likely to continue.
Salary Cap
The NBA has a salary cap that is set at a certain amount each year. In 2020-21, the salary cap is $109.14 million. This means that each team can spend up to that amount on player salaries for the season. The NFL does not have a salary cap, but there is a salary floor, which is the minimum amount that teams must spend on player salaries. For 2020, the salary floor is $175 million.
Television Deals
The current NBA television deals are the most lucrative in the history of the league. In 2014, the NBA signed a nine-year, $24 billion deal with ESPN and TNT to air live games. The average annual value of the deal is more than triple the previous agreement.
Conclusion
The average NFL player salary is $2.1 million. The average NBA player salary is $5.2 million. The NBA has a higher average player salary, but the NFL has more players, so the league as a whole makes more money.
