How much do nba dancers make

How Much Do NBA Cheerleaders Make?

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When it comes to professional basketball games, what comes to mind? Cool players, crazy fans, or pretty cheerleaders? Cheerleaders are a very important element in a game. They bring entertainment to the audience as well as improve the competitive spirit of the players. So, how much do NBA cheerleaders make? Let’s find out with Scott Fujita through the following article.

Contents

How Much Do NBA Cheerleaders Make?

According to information from ESPN in 2017, cheerleaders earn between $75 to $150 per NBA game. Many people think that it is a great reward for a match lasting 3 hours. However, once you know everything related to their work, that amount of money may not seem like a good payoff.

In addition, NBA cheerleaders do not receive health insurance or other benefits from their contracts.

But, many things have changed in the industry. More and more teams pay handsome salaries to their cheerleading teams.

Some NBA cheerleaders can even earn between $400 and $650 per game. This is a well-deserved reward for these hardworking cheerleaders.

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Currently, the best-paying cheerleading teams are:

New York Knicks.
Los Angeles Lakers.
Atlanta Hawks.
Boston Celtics.

How Much Does an NBA Cheerleader Get Paid?

Practice sessions

A cheerleader will have to perform many jobs related to cheerleading. They have to regularly attend dance classes and practice sessions to maintain their appearance.

Therefore, they do not have enough time to engage in other earning activities. That means they can only make money through cheerleading activities.

According to previous data, each NBA cheerleader gets about $30 per practice session. However, many teams compensate their cheerleaders better. Therefore, we can expect that ratio to be higher.

Special events

Cheerleaders are an essential part of the team. So, sometimes they have to make special appearances. It often happens in cities where basketball is very popular. Most cheerleaders receive compensation on these special occasions.

Some teams only pay for international appearances and not for local events. In general, each cheerleader receives between $50 and $100 for each special event.

Gamedays

Like the basketball team, NBA cheerleaders spend months practicing for a few hours or days of game time. According to previous figures, each NBA cheerleader receives up to $150 per game.

However, this number can quadruple in some cases. Many teams still pay around $200 per cheerleader per game. Teams at the top of the NBA rankings can even pay between $400 and $650.

Added benefits

In addition to the remuneration received, NBA cheerleaders also enjoy many other added benefits. These include:

Free use of the gym.
Free game tickets.
Free parking.
Free spa treatments.
And more.

Each team will apply for its own added benefits. Shortly, it is highly likely that the NBA will set common standards regarding cheerleader benefits.

What is an NBA Cheerleader Job?

The group cheerleaders are highly skilled dancers. They are the women who perform high-tech dance moves at an NBA game. They can increase the fan base for their team. Therefore, they have a significant role.

Cheerleaders usually practice for hours every day. In addition to attending the NBA game, they also participate in charity or fundraising events. In addition, they can also interact with the audience at events.

Industry History

Cheerleading is a fairly old activity in basketball culture in America. It was originally an activity exclusively for Ivy League Schools. Especially at that time, it was men who took on this role.

In World War II, men had to join the war. Therefore, women must shoulder this role. To diversify cheerleading, they added acrobatics and gymnastics.

Professional cheerleaders officially began in 1970. That’s when Texx Schramm, owner of the Dallas Cowboys at the time, saw great benefit from cheerleading. At the time, he suggested that the use of glamorous women cheerleaders could increase match ticket sales.

Most NBA cheerleaders earn between $75 and $150 per game.

Scandals Related to Cheerleader Salaries

There have been many lawsuits related to cheerleader remuneration. Perhaps the best way for basketball teams to raise cheerleaders’ pay is when someone takes them to court.

An example of this is the lawsuit between Lauren Herington and the Milwaukee Bucks. Specifically, Lauren Herington sued this team. The reason is that they did not meet the Fair Labor Standards Act requirements.

It started when she realized that her remuneration was less than the minimum wage. After three years since the start of the lawsuit, Lauren Herington received a sizable compensation in 2017.

Lauren Herington sued Milwaukee Bucks when she realized that her remuneration was less than the minimum wage.

In addition to Lauren Herington’s lawsuit, there are many other lawsuits related to NBA teams and their cheerleaders. However, not everyone has such a happy ending. The Buffalo Bills fired their cheerleaders instead of paying them a bigger payout.

Erica Wilkins also sued the Dallas Cowboys for reasons related to cheerleader’s remuneration. Fortunately, the lawsuit ended with the entire cheerleading team getting a raise.

Conditions to Become an NBA Cheerleader

You can’t be an NBA cheerleader just because you want to. This job requires you to work hard and dedicate yourself for many years.

All the cheerleaders have pretty faces and well-proportioned bodies. Also, most of them used to go to dancing school.

Hence, in addition to improving your looks, you should also take a few different dance classes. Some good options for you are hip hop dance, contemporary dance, belly dance, and Zumba.

Taking some dance classes will give you a considerable advantage when applying for a cheerleader position.

NBA teams are always looking for good cheerleaders.

Each cheerleading team has its to ance style. In many cases, they can also provide a routine to repeat during your auditions. It helps cheerleaders understand the team’s standards. In addition, they can also get used to the intensity of passion required to accompany the team.

There are a lot of people with good skills who want to join the cheerleading squad. As a result, auditions can be very harsh. With intense passion and high determination, you will surely pass those brutal auditions easily.

Why Do So Many People Want to Be NBA Cheerleaders?

Through people like Erica Wilkins and Lauren Herington, we’ve learned the dark side of cheerleaders. However, a lot of people are still willing to join the cheerleading squads. So why?

NBA cheerleaders make the halftime break less boring for spectators.

1. They love it!

For many people, cheerleaders are their lifelong dream. The reason is that they love it.

They love the hustle and bustle of this job. The cheerleaders like to appear in front of passionate fans with close members of the team. Team members can even create a special bond that keeps them together forever.

2. The fame

During an NBA game, most fans always pay attention to the cheerleaders. Many cheerleaders have a lot of fans thanks to cheerleading wildly for their basketball team. Thanks to that, many cheerleaders have turned to other professions, such as actors or models.

3. Great benefits

Although the salaries of NBA cheerleaders are not very high, they also enjoy additional benefits. NBA cheerleaders get free travel, free use of modern gyms and spas, free parking, and more. Therefore, this is the lifelong dream of many girls.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can NBA cheerleaders have tattoos?

NBA cheerleaders may have tattoos or piercings. However, this is not. If you have tattoos, you should wear makeup to cover visible tattoos.

2. What is the minimum age to become an NBA cheerleader?

As a rule, you need to be 21 years old to become an NBA cheerleader.

3. Can NBA players date the cheerleaders?

The short answer is yes. However, this is rarely the case. There are many good reasons for players not to date cheerleaders.

4. How do I become an NFL dancer?

To become an NFL cheerleader, you will need to meet many conditions. First, you must be 18 years old. You need a GED certificate.

If not, you need to graduate from high school. According to the rules of some teams like the Atlanta Falcons, you need to be a college student or have a full-time or part-time job.

5. Are cheerleaders important?

They are essential to the team. NBA, NFL, NHL are always looking for good cheerleaders.

6. Can I become an NBA cheerleader if I am not flexible?

NBA cheerleaders must be flexible. Most of them take dance classes. You can improve your flexibility by practicing daily.

Over time, your skills will get better. If you are persistent, luck will come to you.

Final Thoughts

Professional cheerleader is not the highest paying job right now. However, not everyone can do this job.

Professional cheerleader activities are making good progress in terms of remuneration. More and more people are speaking out and fighting them. Therefore, they will have better days in the future!

NBA 21/22 season: How much does a cheerleader earn?

Cheerleaders have become part and parcel of NBA games, but they are not quite like the cheerleaders who take part in competitions, participating in difficult athletic routines that involve tumbling and complex, dangerous sequences.

NBA cheerleaders are basically attractive dancers in skimpy outfits who provide entertainment and cheer the team on during games or represent the team in events.

While the men on the teams they represent earn millions of dollars a year, the best-paid women on the floor are lucky to earn a few hundreds per appearance.

The demands on an NBA cheerleader

These cheerleaders need to have dancing skills, and be familiar with contemporary hip hop, Zumba, and belly dancing. They also have to be physically fit to be able to cope with the rigors of rehearsals and performances, and of course, to look good in their revealing uniforms. Reports indicate that some of them have been pressured to lose weight and comply with weight restrictions.

They put in hours of practice to perfect their dance routines, and they also need to have a flexible schedule as they need to be present for events to promote the team.

Cheerleaders' cheerless pay

According to an ESPN report in 2017, NBA cheerleaders earn between $75 to $150 per game. Not bad for a few hours of work, you would think, especially when you compare it to the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Peanuts though, if you compare it to the people they are sharing the court with.

The pay has increased a little since then, maybe as a result of lawsuits filed by former cheerleaders regarding their low salary. The first lawsuit by an NBA cheerleader for low pay was filed in 2015 by Lauren Herrington against the Milwaukee Bucks, which the team settled. There have also been similar cases filed by NFL cheerleaders.

Headline: "NBA Cheerleader Files Lawsuit Against Basketball Team for Alleged Low Pay." At $65 per game, there's nothing alleged about it.
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) October 28, 2015

Professional basketball dancers these days get paid between $200 and $650 per game, with bonuses if their team makes it to the playoffs. Some perks include free tickets and free arena parking.

The highest paid NBA dance squads

The best paid cheerleaders work for the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks, with a rate of $650 per match and a bonus of $2,000. This comes out to around $35,000 a year.

Next on the list are the women who dance for the LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics. They pocket $600 a game with a $1.500 bonus. The annual rate is approximately $30,000.

Among the lowest-paying squads are the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, and Phoenix Suns, with a payout of $200 per game and a $700 bonus, for a total of some $15,000 per year.

Cheerleaders’ salaries are highly unlikely to go anywhere near the pay of the players that they are cheering on. (After all, Kyrie Irving can apparently afford to miss out on around $200 million for his decision to remain unvaccinated.)

But they can at least continue to use the courts (the ones used for legal matters, that is) to push the bar a little way up and sue for the pay that they believe they deserve.

Hourly pay Why half-naked girls support athletes and how much they earn: Summer sports: Sports: Lenta.ru

Cheerleading in the US has a long history, but in recent years, Russian dancers have taken an increasingly strong position in basketball, volleyball and hockey matches. How the world of American support groups works and how it differs from the Russian one, Lenta.ru found out.

Cheerleading is a cult in the USA. Every American woman dreams of being on a high school team, a college team, and then a professional club. Cheerleaders are associated with the sport as team mascots and hot dog stands.

The National Cheerleading Association was founded in 1948. At the same time, a clothing company for girls from the cheerleading group appeared. Then the passion for cheerleading became ubiquitous - that is, the business plan became the main trigger for creating an industry.

Cheerleading gained world fame only in 1956, when the pom-poms of American dancers appeared. At the same time, support for professional football clubs came into fashion.

The Dallas Cowboys revolutionized the early 1970s: their cheerleading squad abandoned classical acrobatics in favor of fiery dances. Everything we see in sports breaks today was invented more than three decades ago in the United States.

Dream Team

Despite a rich history in cheerleading, professional dancers in the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) today earn between $75 and $150 a game. For comparison: American waitresses receive 7-12 dollars per hour.

Photo: Danny Moloshok / AP

However, women are not sitting idly by and have already begun to fight for their rights. In April 2017, the Milwaukee Bucks lost a lawsuit to former cheerleader Lauren Herington after the court ruled to pay her monetary compensation for the team's failure to comply with labor standards. The plaintiff alleged that, on average, the dancers spent 30-40 hours per week rehearsing, training, charity events, and performing at games. Despite this, she said, their salary was only $65 per game and $30-$50 for special events. With the total amount of time worked, it came out to about four dollars an hour.

In the NFL, girls from cheerleading groups also started legal proceedings, expressing dissatisfaction with working conditions and wages. The Oakland Raiders cheerleaders sued for $1.25 million after proving their hourly wage was five times the minimum wage.

Lawsuits eventually led to some clubs guaranteeing girls pay raises, but the highest paid cheerleaders still earn below market minimums, so the girls continue to fight for better living conditions. Their main argument is that they are an integral part of the NBA and NFL, they provide entertainment and branding, so their salary should be appropriate.

American Goddesses

NFL and NBA leaders take the position that groupies (as cheerleaders are called) are not employees, but independent contractors. Consequently, clubs are not required to pay them wages in accordance with the fixed minimum.

However, in 1995, the Buffalo Braves cheerleading team won a lawsuit against the club: the court ruled to qualify the girls as employees of the team. The dancers subsequently formed the first cheerleading union in history.

In 2015, the State of California passed a law requiring professional cheerleaders to be treated as club employees. This guarantees the cheerleaders of the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings a salary of at least nine dollars an hour.

Bring It On

Clubs rely on cheerleaders' love of dancing and unpaid service to athletes. But not a single person works for thanks, out of love for the profession. Moreover, in sports - especially in America - fabulous money is spinning. The minimum salary for an NBA rookie is $815,000 per year; $465,000 a year is the salary of an NFL first-year player. These salaries allow every athlete to live comfortably, while doing what he loves.

However, this principle does not apply to support groups. The New York Knicks' cheerleaders, who fill commercial breaks with rousing dance routines and receive more workloads than some reserve players, work for next to nothing. Their fee for one performance is less than $ 200, they perform many dangerous stunts, but they do not even have insurance.

“At first you are ready to put on shorts that show almost half your butt for the love of dancing. At the beginning of a career, enthusiasm and a thirst for fame push everything else into the background. But by the end of the first season, your life turns into hell, ”said one of the Knicks cheerleaders.

View from the East

American cheerleaders see dance as a business that makes money. For the United States, sports are part of the entertainment industry, designed to increase the audience and financial gain. In Russia the situation is different.

The first Russian support group appeared in 1995 on the wave of post-perestroika sentiments and love for everything Western. Today there are cheerleaders in almost every basketball, volleyball and hockey club.

However, our girls consider themselves dancers first and foremost. Even the word "cheerleading" did not take root in Russia, it remained something foreign.

“In 1995, when cheerleading was born in Russia, the goal of our team was precisely to support the players. But we set a goal: not to the detriment of the support of the team to be professional dancers. At the same time, when Khimki play on the road, the girls follow the matches, statistics and worry about the guys, ”says Tatyana Stankevich, head of the Khimki basketball club cheerleading team.

To get into the group, the girls go through a rigorous selection process. External data should be practically model. Height from 170 to 180 centimeters, age - 18-22 years. “A girl must have dance and choreographic training. The main thing is not to be shy to dance beautifully, not to lower your eyes to the floor. There must be artistry and energy that can be conveyed to the audience,” says Stankevich. The head of the CSKA support group, Anna Burkina, also believes that girls need a good stretch, physical data and appearance, the ability to convey emotions to the audience.

Finance

Russian cheerleaders don't earn much, but the head of the Khimki cheerleaders is pleased with the state of affairs and sympathizes with the girls from the US: “I know they get paid less Russians. But in the US, this work is not designed for profit, but for advertising. In Los Angeles, the girls come to the team in the hope that the producer will come and notice them. And then their future will be formed.

Photo: Dmitry Lebedev / Kommersant

Before the crisis, Khimki were Moscow's highest-paid cheerleading group; today, finances have been cut. However, according to Stankevich, even now everything is fine with salaries at Khimki: “For girls who combine cheerleading with studies or other work, the support group is ideal. ”

CSKA thinks $65 per game is normal. However, unlike American dancers, CSKA cheerleaders are employees of the club's office and receive a stable monthly salary.

Things are worse in the regions. Ulyana Trigubchak from the support group of the Salavat Yulaev hockey club said that only hockey players and bosses make good money. “I personally only have enough for pocket expenses. I couldn't live on this money. Therefore, for me it’s just a hobby, ”Trigubchak told Lente.ru.

Have a dream

But girls still dream of being a cheerleader because it's prestigious. “Initially, girls come for the love of dancing. But sometimes it turns out and become famous. Our dancers go either on maternity leave or on a big professional swim. One danced with Irina Saltykova, the other with Natalia Vetlitskaya, and the third in the musical Notre Dame de Paris. Our most famous participant Tatyana Khramova became an actress,” said the head of the Khimki support group.

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When asked if cheerleading gives an opportunity to make a profitable game, Stankevich answered in the negative: "There was one girl who wanted to get married, but she did not last even a season. " Anna Burkina disagrees with her colleague - each has her own goals: “There are girls who come to get married successfully. Although we try not to take such dancers, there were precedents.” For example, Khimki basketball player Alexei Shved married former CSKA cheerleader Anastasia Ziaditdinova.

There is a big difference between American and Russian cheerleading. For American women who treat dancing like a job, performing in a cheerleading group is an opportunity to earn and support themselves. For our girls, this is a creative hobby and, perhaps, a chance to successfully marry. Perhaps one thing unites them: the desire to succeed.

How much do NBA stars earn? Salary rating-2019 - Blogg on the floor - Blogs

We count other people's millions.

Many people know that the NBA has a salary cap. It is set at $109.14 million for the 2019/20 season.

But not everyone knows that the salary cap is directly tied to the league's revenue. And with it - the salaries of all players. Basketball players make millions of dollars because the NBA makes billions of dollars.

8.2 billion to be exact is exactly how much the NBA expects to receive in the coming season in the form of "Basketball-related income" (BRI, basketball-related income). This BRI includes only $400-500 million converted from yuan, so don't worry: even a complete break in relations with China won't take more than five or six percent off the BRI.

Under the 2017 Collective Agreement between the league and the players union, 50%* of BRI goes to players in the form of wages.

* - actually not, but in order not to load the text with nuances, I will explain them in the comments.

There are 510 jobs in the league - each of the 30 teams can apply for 17 people.

51 NBA players - exactly 10% - will receive at least $20 million next season **.

** - and again I suggest going to the comments for those who want abstruseness.

The “Gini coefficient” and other indicators of financial inequality in the NBA as in a single economy look better than the global ones: if in the real world the richest 10% own 75-85% of all wealth (in the USA - 70-75% according to various estimates ), then in the NBA, the top 10% earn only 35% of all salaries.

But even these 35% is more than one and a half billion dollars. Or, in other words, 1,655 NBA rookie minimum contracts.

Let's look at how this one and a half billion is distributed. For a round number, we will limit ourselves to the top 50 earning more than 20 million; The 51st player in the ranking with a salary of exactly 20 million is Indiana guard Malcolm Brogdon. If you go to the basketball section less than once a week, then most likely you don’t even know who it is. And he earns more than Aguero, James, Neuer or any Serie A player except Cristiano.

Who is not in this part of the rating? For example, Philadelphia's rising star Ben Simmons, who signed a five-year, $170 million contract this summer that won't take effect until a year later, is now playing on a "modest" $8 million rookie salary.

For the same reason, Utah leader Donovan Mitchell, Dallas' delightful Luka Doncic, or intimidating rookie Zion Williamson are not yet on the NBA's Most Valuable Players list. All of them still earn a fixed salary (depending on the number under which the player was taken in the draft), for which they need to play 4 seasons before claiming a luxurious life.

Who is in this part of the rating? Giannis. The current NBA MVP - and the future, according to some forecasts, too.

Greek-Frick did not make the top 40 for a number of reasons, the main of which is that the NBA does not review existing contracts (with some exceptions so rare that they do not even deserve an asterisk and a footnote in the commentary). Antetokounmpo signed his contract back in 2016, by that time the Greek had never played in the All-Star Game, averaging 17 points and playing as the main point guard of the very weak Bucks (49losses in a season).

And Giannis, not so long ago a beggar teenager who sold souvenirs on the streets of Athens and ran in patched sneakers, was so grateful that Milwaukee believed in him that he did not insist on a maximum contract, or even on a player option in the last year contract. He was told that he would receive $100 million, and he was stunned by this amount - and it does not matter that at the same time as him, Stephen Adams also signed for exactly the same contract, whom Oklahoma renewed only in a panic from losing Durant.

All in all, Antetokounmpo did great humanly but naively economically three years ago: Giannis has already lost $33 million by waiving his maximum wage and has also pushed back his possible free agency entry from 2020 to 2021.

That's why next year he will be so low in the rankings again. But then - hello to the biggest contract in the history of the NBA.

There are now only 32 people in the NBA with maximum contracts of (this number does not include DeRozan, whose salary was maximum only in the first two years of the contract, Horford and Love, who played at maximum levels a year ago, Vucevic, and Millsap and Middleton from the next group).

At the same time, almost everyone has different salaries.

How did it happen?

To answer this question, need to understand how maximum contracts are formed .

Maximum contracts come in three levels depending on the player's experience:

up to 6 league seasons - 25% of ceiling;
7-9 seasons - 30%;
and more 10 - 35%

A player can jump up one category by becoming MVP, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, or making the All-Star Team of the Season. At the same time, all these 25, 30 and 35% form only the salary in the first season. For example, now 25% of the ceiling is the salary of Russell, Porzingis, Booker, Towns. The first two signed a contract this summer, and the last two lasted a year ago, just their agreements implied entry into force in 2019-m.

And then everything changes: Russell, who signed a contract with a new team, Golden State after Brooklyn, will have an annual increase of 5%. Towns, who lasted with Minnesota, has 8%. And next year their salaries will be different.

Other players signed maximum wages in other years when there was a different salary cap. Anthony Davis received 25% of the ceiling in 2016 (he could have received 30%, but he got injured in the key season 15/16 and did not make the team of the season). Then, when he moved to the Lakers, he voluntarily forfeited a trading bonus so the Los Angelesers could sign a third star this summer.

Voiceover: They couldn't.

So it turned out that Davis and three other maximum speeds in 2016 are not included in the top 30, since they are slightly behind the maximum contracts concluded later, in 2017-2019 - the growth rate of the ceiling and, consequently, the new maximum speeds were higher than the increase in their contracts .

Six people at once signed a new contract this year with a starting salary of 30% of the ceiling. And they are all different:

The strangest one is with Kyrie Irving: 1 million allocated in 8 bonuses, for which he needs to play in 70 games, hit 88. 5% of free throws in a season, lose the ball no more than 2.4 times per game and so on. He did not achieve all this a year ago, and bonuses are not yet taken into account in his salary.

Tobias Harris will receive the maximum in the first year of his contract only, and will receive a total of 10 million less in the remaining seasons.

Clay Thompson signed up for 5 years.

Kemba Walker and Jimmy Butler - for 4 years, the only difference is a possible trading bonus in Kemba's contract.

Kawhi signed up for 3. And the third year is a player option, so he should be a free agent again in 2021.

Yes, it's strange to see Kawhi Leonard outside the top 10 - but he chose this path himself (as the last NBA finals showed - he did the right thing). If the forward did not change teams, but remained in San Antonio, then this season his salary would be the same as that of Harden or Durant. But he has a different financial mechanism turned on: better conditions for winning the championship + a large market for new advertising contracts = the opportunity to get much more than the extra 5-6 million a year in the club salary.

Did you really think there was no calculator built into Kawhi's operating system?

P.S. Interestingly, in the top 20 - only Americans, this has not happened since the implementation of the salary cap in 1984! A new generation of super-foreigners, constrained by the financial rules of the NBA, has not yet reached the old American star guard.

King James always wants to be at the top of the list. But he was the most expensive NBA player only once : in the 2016/17 season. Before that, the Miami discount to team up with Wade and Bosch, the move back to Cleveland on a one-year contract, the technical impossibility of reaching Kobe's maximum salary. And then Curry, who has been playing in one club all his career, took the lead - after all, the NBA salary rules reward those stars who do not change clubs: they get a slightly higher maximum salary, a little longer, a little earlier.

But LeBron was always pissed off about the concept of a maximum salary. Why should workers be capped by some sort of salary cap? Why can't he earn in the NBA as much as she earns on him? According to various statistical metrics, the benefit of LeBron in his peak years should have been paid by a contract of 70-80 million a year 2003, with a completely different salary cap.

Even now, LeBron James's salary would be much more than 37.4 million if there were no artificial restrictions in the NBA. Reference point? Let's take Cristiano Ronaldo. Similar age, status, achievements, popularity, the situation with the transition to another club, even advertising contracts they have about the same level of income. Ronaldo earns about 64 million a year from Juventus before taxes; LeBron, it turns out, almost half as much.

Nevertheless, LeBron will still be the first - in terms of total career earnings . In the upcoming season, he (307 million) will overtake Shaquille (286 million) and will be second only to Kobe Bryant (323 million) and Kevin Garnett (334 million), whom he will overtake in 2021. LeBron will earn almost $400 million in the NBA by the end of his career - and even more from advertising contracts. The dream of becoming a billionaire is getting closer.

Fans often demand strict logic in issuing maximum contracts. That they should only be given to MVPs or champions, that clubs shouldn't give big contracts to non-All-Star players, that only five/two/ten people/one LeBron/all 510 NBA players are eligible for the top salary.

Actually there is no logic.

The maximum contract, even the largest possible one (35% of the ceiling), can be obtained for real services to the club, like Harden - and still there will be people who consider his salary too high.

You can - for previous achievements. Kevin Durant will make over $38 million in a season without a game for Brooklyn due to a torn Achilles , but the Nets believe he can return to his former superstar level and add championship experience to the team.

Or you can - for vague promises to become a top player in the NBA, as was the case with John Wall. He sparkled in the second half of the 2016/17 season and made it to the NBA's third All-Star Five, which qualified him for a Supermax contract extension. And "Washington" then gave him this 170 million extension for 4 years, which is effective now.

Since signing, Wall has never played more than 50% of his season and, like Durant, will miss the 2019 season/20 whole. But in 2017, he was a rising star, soon to be the best defenseman in the conference, and was valued for a super max contract... 90,003 90,002 Or just the Washingtons. A team that hasn't played in an Eastern final for 40 years.

Westbrook and Paul are united not only by the fact that they were traded for each other in July, but also that since 2018 they have an identical salary. They were extended through different mechanisms, but came to the same numbers (although Westbrook has a contract for a year longer).

Why are their salaries higher than the Durant-Harden-Wall trio? Again, remember that the maximum salary depends on the ceiling, which grows unevenly . The annual salary increase is 8%, while the salary cap has increased by only 7.14% in the last year.

Contracts in the NBA, as already mentioned, are not reviewed - neither as a result of negotiations between the parties, nor by any automatic rules, so in a year Westbrook and Paul are entitled to 41 million, in two - 44 million each. And this figure will not change, even if all countries, including the United States, follow the example of China, turn their backs on the NBA, and the salary cap falls from 109million dollars to 109 million cents.

Next year, Durant, Harden, Wall, Paul and Westbrook will break the $40 million salary bar with their supermaxes. But they won't be the first.

Steph Curry won his first MVP and first title, being fourth in salary on his team, and 53rd in the league behind JaVale McGee, Larry Sanders and Andrea Bargnani.

Second MVP - fifth salary with the Warriors and 61st in the NBA, behind Amir Johnson, Demarre Carroll and Brandon Knight.

Second title - Curry is the 82nd highest paid in the NBA, and it's too long to list role players earning more. At the time, Curry's salary of $12 million was closer to the minimum (1.3 million) than the maximum (26.5 million).

Just before the third title, Stef was given the contract he deserved. The largest in history at that time - 201.2 million dollars.

The third season of this contract breaks the historic mark of $40 million. However, taking into account inflation, this is not a record, but only the third most expensive indicator.

Jordan has the first two, of course. His 30 million in the 96/97 season in today's dollars would be 49 million, and 33 million in 97/98 would be 54 million.

more than the entire salary cap), we may never see again.

* * *

You can complain that your parents forgot to send you to the basketball club or didn't feed you enough carrots, cottage cheese and oatmeal, in the comments.