NBA GM´s on Player Pay
Source: NBA
The average NBA salaries along with other sports have significantly increased over the years. The average NBA salary of the 2014 season was about 5 million which is higher than salaries of the NFL, NHL and MLB. Some of the top paid players in the league like Stephen Curry, Russel Westbrook, Lebron James and Chris Paul are all getting paid over 35 million. But arguably the best player in the NBA right now Giannis Antetekumpo isn´t even in the top 25 for highest paid players. So what determines an NBA players salry you may ask? The answer isn´t as complicated as it seems.
Similar to common businesses, the more money a company makes, the more money they can pay their workers. The same concept applies for NBA teams. As Dr. Lyons puts it, ¨ As capital increases, so do worker raises.¨ So the revenue a team generates from ticket sales, broadcast deals, merchandise sold, concessions, signage etc is directly correlated with how much pay a player can receive. The limit for how much a team can spend on players salaries is called a salary cap. GMs and owners have a scarcity of money, so they must choose wisely on how to spend it. So, the more revenue a team generates, the more player pay they can give out. Obviously the better more effective players are going to get paid more which leads me to my next topic of the factors considered when paying players.
The factors involved in player pay are pretty straight forward. The better player, the better pay they will receive. Some statistics considered when evaluating player pay are points per game, rebounds, assists, turnovers, and efficiency percentages for field goals and 3 pointers. This is why there is a lot of NBA players who are selfish because they only focus on their stats. This is also why some players are overpaid because defense isn´t really a measurable statistic. But why is Giannis not getting paid as much as others? Because the determined salary is from a players past performance not there current performance. Giannis is having a breakout year putting up phenomenal numbers and leading his team through the playoffs. However, his contract which was 4 years was signed back in the 2017 season, where he was still a great player, but certainly wasn´t putting up the same numbers that he is now.
In my next blog post, I will recap how NBA GM´s decide how to acquire players.







