NBA Draft: Here’s How Much First-Round Picks Will Earn As Rookies
KEY FACTS
Over the course of a four-year contract, the first overall pick is expected to make $57.19 million, according to estimates from Spotrac.
Total four-year payments gradually decrease from there, to $51.18 million for the second overall pick, $45.98 million for the third, then $41.47 million and $37.57 million for the fifth pick—down to $12.84 million for the 30th pick of the first round.
That comes out to $12.61 million in the first year for the first overall pick, $11.28 million for the second, and $10.13 million for the third—and $2.50 million for the 30th.If that contract value holds up, the first overall pick would narrowly outpace the first-year deal secured by San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, who landed a $12.16 million rookie deal last year.
It would also beat Paolo Banchero’s 2022 contract with the Orlando Magic as first overall pick, which hit the league max at $11.6 million, while in 2021, Cade Cunningham’s max rookie contract with the Detroit Pistons gave him $10 million in his first year.
The first two years of each rookie’s contract are guaranteed, according to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, and those deals can be extended for a third and fourth year, with annual salary increasing throughout the length of those contract periods.
SURPSRISING FACT
For the second straight year, the top pick in the NBA Draft is expected to come from France, following Wembanyama last year. This year, the top two draft hopefuls both come from France: Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr. The Atlanta Hawks have the first pick of the 2024 draft, followed by the Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets.
TANGENT
Some of the biggest names in college basketball have also been raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars on so-called name, image and likeness deals. Those lucrative endorsements were made possible for college student-athletes following the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in NCAA v. Alston, in which the court ruled the college athletic association’s limitations on student compensation violated federal antitrust laws. Later in 2021, the NCAA voted to allow college athletes to make money from endorsements, though they cannot be directly compensated for their play by their schools. Some of the biggest deals this year involved Duke’s Jared McCain, who pulled in an estimated $1 million in deals with Champs Sports, Crocs and RECOVER 180. North Carolina star Armando Bacot, meanwhile, is estimated to make $930,000 in endorsements, including with BOA Nutrition and Dunkin Donuts. Recently signed WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark is estimated to have made $3.1 million in NIL deals, including major partnerships with Gatorade and Nike.
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