What’s the Least an NBA Player Makes?

We all know that NBA players make a lot of money, but have you ever wondered what the least an NBA player makes? Read on to find out!

NBA Players’ Salaries

The NBA has a minimum salary a player can make that is set by the league. In order to be eligible to play in the NBA, a player must be at least 19 years old and must have signed a contract with the team that he will be playing for. The minimum salary for an NBA player is $838,464.

Minimum Salary

The minimum salary for an NBA player is $893,310 for the 2020-21 season, which is a slight increase from the previous year. The salary cap for the 2020-21 season is $ 109.14 million, which means that the average player in the NBA will make around $8.18 million this season. The minimum salary increases every year as per the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its players’ union. However, rookies sign smaller contracts and typically make less than the minimum salary in their first season.

Maximum Salary

The maximum salary a player can earn in the NBA is based on their years of experience in the league. rookies have a maximum salary of $898,310, while players with 10 or more years of experience can earn up to $35,498,000. Players can negotiate for salaries above the maximum, but these require special permission from the NBA.

Rookie Salary Scale

Rookie players in the NBA are paid according to a rookie salary scale, which is a system that specifies the amount of money that rookies can be paid. The scale is set by the league’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The rookie salary scale for the 2020-21 NBA season is as follows:

-players drafted in the first round will receive salaries ranging from $874,636 to $7,029,960, with the specific amount determined by where they were drafted;
-players drafted in the second round will receive salaries ranging from $463,500 to $1,678,854; and
-players who are not drafted but sign a contract with an NBA team will receive a minimum salary of $898,310.

The CBA also stipulates that rookies’ salaries will increase by 20% each year until they reach their fourth season in the league. After that, they become eligible for restricted or unrestricted free agency.

How NBA Players’ Salaries Are Determined

The least an NBA player can make is $582,180, which is the rookie minimum salary. Rookies are typically signed to two-year contracts, with team options for the third and fourth years. Players can negotiate for higher salaries, but they are bound by the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the players’ union. So, how are NBA players’ salaries determined?

NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement

The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a contract that sets forth the rights and obligations of the NBA and its players. The CBA is renewed every seven years, and the most recent agreement was reached in 2017.

The CBA sets forth the minimum and maximum salaries that NBA players can earn, as well as rules regarding player contracts, free agency, and draft eligibility. The minimum salary for an NBA player is determined by a formula set forth in the CBA. The formula takes into account the number of years a player has been in the league, and increases with each year of service.

For example, a rookie who has just been drafted by an NBA team will have a minimum salary of $874,636 for the 2018-19 season. A player with two years of experience will have a minimum salary of $1,349,383, while a player with 10 or more years of experience will have a minimum salary of $2,328,652.

The maximum salary that an NBA player can earn is also set forth in the CBA. The maximum salary is calculated using a formula that takes into account the amount of money generated by the league’s television contracts. For example, during the 2017-18 season, the maximum salary that any NBA player could earn was $33,007,078.

In addition to setting forth the minimum and maximum salaries that NBA players can earn, the CBA also includes rules regarding player contracts, free agency, and draft eligibility. Players who are drafted by an NBA team are typically signed to multi-year contracts. However, these contracts often include provisions that allow players to become free agents after a certain number of years.

Once a player becomes a free agent, he is free to sign with any team that he chooses. However, teams are not required to offer free agent players contracts; they can choose to let them go without compensation.

The draft eligibility rules set forth in the CBA are designed to ensure that only the best basketball players are drafted into the NBA. To be eligible for the draft, a player must be at least 19 years old and must have been out of high school for at least one year. In addition, international players who wish to be drafted must notify the league office on or before June 15th prior to their 22nd birthday if they wish to be considered for selection.

NBA Salary Cap

The NBA has a salary cap that is the maximum amount of money that a team can spend on player salaries in a given year. The salary cap is calculated each year based on revenue from the previous season, and it is announced prior to the start of free agency.

The salary cap for the 2020-21 season is $109.1 million, and each team must have a minimum of 13 players under contract. The most a team can pay one player is 25% of the salary cap, and the least a team can pay a player is $562,493 (veteran minimum).

Rookie players are subject to a different set of rules, and their salaries are determined by the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. First-round draft picks are limited to four-year contracts, with team options for two additional years, and second-round draft picks are limited to two-year contracts (with team options for two additional years).

The rookie scale for the 2020-21 season is as follows:
First overall pick – $9,258,640
Second overall pick – $8,606,480
Third overall pick – $7,954,320
Fourth overall pick – $7,302,160
Fifth overall pick – $6,650,000
etc.

NBA Players’ Salaries Compared to Other Professional Athletes

It is no secret that professional athletes are some of the highest-paid individuals in the United States. However, what may come as a surprise is just how much more NBA players make compared to other professional athletes. In fact, the average NBA player’s salary is nearly double that of the average Major League Baseball player.

NFL

The average NFL player salary in 2020 is $2.7 million, according to Spotrac. The median salary for all NFL players is $860,000. The top 10 percent of earners made an average of $17.1 million, while the bottom 10 percent made an average of $235,000. The median salary for a starting NFL player is $1.02 million.

MLB

The average MLB salary is $4 million.

The highest-paid player in MLB is pitcher Zack Greinke, who makes $34.4 million a year. The lowest-paid player in MLB is Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who makes just $2 million a year.

In comparison, the average NBA salary is $7.7 million. The highest-paid player in the NBA is LeBron James, who makes $33.3 million a year. The lowest-paid player in the NBA is center Hasheem Thabeet, who makes just $473,604 a year.

NHL

In the National Hockey League, the average player’s salary was $2.9 million in 2017-18, according to Spotrac, an online database of professional athletes’ salaries. The NHL’s highest-paid player is Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, who has an annual salary cap hit of $10.5 million.

The lowest-paid NHL player is Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jaycob Megna, who has a cap hit of $650,000. In comparison to NBA players, even the lowest-paid NHL player still earns a higher salary.

NBA Players’ Salaries Compared to the Average American

The average NBA player’s salary is about $7.7 million per year, which is a lot more than the average American’s salary of $48,000. NBA players make more money than the average American because they are some of the best athletes in the world and are paid to play a game. Although they make a lot of money, they still have to pay taxes on their income.

Median Household Income

Income inequality has been a persistent issue in the United States for many years now. A large portion of the population does not earn enough money to live comfortably, while a small number of people have extremely high incomes.

One way to compare incomes is to look at the median household income. This is the income that falls in the middle of all incomes, with half of households earning more and half earning less.

In 2016, the median household income was $59,039. This means that half of all households earned less than this amount, and half earned more.

To put this into perspective, we can compare it to the salaries of NBA players. The average NBA player salary is $7 million per year. This means that the average player earns 119 times as much as the median household.

The least an NBA player can earn is $562,493 per year. This is still 9 times as much as the median household income.

So even the least paid NBA player earns more than 9 times what a typical American family brings in each year. This highlights how large the gap is between the highest and lowest earners in our society.

Average Salary

The average NBA player’s salary is $7.7 million per year, which is more than double the average American’s salary of $37,000. However, the lowest-paid NBA player still earns more than the average American, making a minimum of $582,180 per year. So whileNBA players’ salaries are significantly higher than the average American’s salary, there is a wide range in salaries among NBA players, with some earning much more than others.