How Often Do NBA Players Get Paid? (All You Need To Know)
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NBA players get a lot of money to play basketball, and most have money issues when their career ends. Because of that, you may wonder if they get their money too early or too late. So, how often do NBA players get paid?
NBA players receive two checks per month on the first and fifteenth, amounting to 24 checks spread throughout the year. Some players get money in advance when their contract starts or may get a loan later on, so the total sum of each check varies depending on each player.
However, not all NBA players have the same contract or get the same amount of money every year. At the same time, players also have to go through the off-season, and you may want to know if they get money then.
When Do NBA Players Get Paid?
NBA players get paid twice per month. They receive their money on the first and fifteenth. However, how much a player gets depends on the contract they sign. Some get advancements early in the year, while others get most of their money as soon as they join a team.
It’s difficult to say when an individual player gets their money and, more importantly, how much they get. For example, several players get loans against their salaries. In other words, they get an advance of the total sum of their contract.
If a player receives no money upfront, they get a check twice per month, amounting to 24 checks throughout the year.
How Much Do NBA Players Make?
On average, an NBA player makes $6 million per year. However, how much a player makes depends on their skills and demand, so that number varies wildly depending on each contract.
To paint an accurate picture, we can look at two opposing sides. The minimum salaries for NBA players are between one and two million dollars annually, while the highest is a little over half a billion dollars for a two-year contract.
Then again, no player will get half a billion dollars when their professional career starts. Most will start at low seven figures, while the best will reach astronomical sums sometime in their career.
Why Do NBA Players Get So Much Money?
NBA players have huge salaries because of how much money basketball makes. The NBA is a business that profits from ticket sales, advertising, and other deals. Without that, these players wouldn’t get a fraction of their income.
People spend a lot of money on basketball, and you need basketball players to make that happen. However, there’s something to ponder. NBA players are a small minority of all basketball players. Simply put, they’re the best at what they do.
When you’re the best in the business, you get a lot of money, no matter your profession. Few people in the world can play like LeBron James or Stephen Curry, so they get a lot of money because there’s a demand for their skill set.
If the millions of basketball fans lost their interest, the NBA would lose their advertising money and ticket sales, thus losing their revenue, making NBA players broke.
Do NBA Players Get Paid During Off-Season?
NBA players get paid throughout the year, no matter if they play or not, and that includes the off-season. Most players receive 24 checks annually, once in the first and the second in the fifteenth, like a lot of regular workers do.
However, certain players will get special treatment or may ask for a loan. In that case, they receive a certain amount of money upfront and won’t get as many checks throughout the year. At the same time, NBA players get bonuses for different things, like making the playoffs.
Of course, that’s the money players get from the NBA alone. Athletes also make money from endorsements and sponsorships, which do not depend on the NBA schedule.
How Much Is An NBA Player’s First Check?
Most NBA players sign their first contract for one or two million dollars per year. Since players receive 24 checks yearly, that first check would amount to a little over $83,000. However, different players sign different contracts and get different checks for their efforts.
There’s an astonishing difference between the minimum salary and the highest-paying contract players make in the NBA. Nevertheless, even the bare minimum in this organization is already a lot of money.
To better understand these numbers, you can compare them to the median salary in America, which is slightly less than $55,000 annually. In a worst-case scenario, an NBA player gets that plus $33,000 after the first fifteen days of playing.
How Much Is An NBA Pension?
NBA pensions are not set in stone. They depend on a player’s yearly contributions during his tenure as a professional player. Each player receives $800 monthly per year of service. At the same time, how much they get depends on when they decide to receive their pension.
In other words, a player who contributed for ten years will not receive the same money as someone who did the same for twenty years. However, it’s not difficult for players to bulk up their pension fund.
The NBA is pretty lax when it comes to years of service. When someone gets a contract for one game during the season, that counts as one year of service, and they don’t need to play the game for it to count.
NBA players need at least a 3-year contract to qualify for a pension.
Are All NBA Players Rich?
Technically speaking, all NBA players are rich as soon as they sign their contract since the minimum salary for a player is more than a million dollars. Unfortunately, most professional athletes are known for being financially irresponsible and prone to squander.
However, some players are smart enough to invest the money they get throughout their professional careers, and that’s the key to truly being rich.
Otherwise, it doesn’t matter if you get a million dollars per year for a decade. You’ll lose everything you have by leading a reckless and lavish lifestyle, which is often the case for most pro athletes.
The NBA spreads their paychecks throughout the year and has a pension to avoid these issues. The organization even encourages retired players to attend college and get a degree.
Conclusion
NBA players get a paycheck twice a month on the first and fifteenth. Their annual salary is spread throughout the year in 24 checks. However, some players get advances in one way or another, making it easier to get a big part of their contract as soon as possible.
