The 2023 off-season in the NBA has been historic, including record-high viewership ratings for the NBA draft and summer league. This is mainly due to the highly touted draft class including French phenom Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson. The most significant historic marks in the off-season have been the record-high paydays for players. This article will break down how the recent contract extensions for Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown and Los Angeles Lakers forward/center Anthony Davis set the new median for superstar players in the NBA. More specifically, what do the big pay raises for NBA superstars mean for future contracts and if they are being paid too much?
Brown’s Historic Payday
Brown in late July signed the richest contract in NBA history for $304 million. His new supermax contract is five years, nearly making $70 million in his final year. Denver Nuggets Center Nikola Jokic previously held the mantle for the largest NBA contract at $270 million. Brown will make $30.7 million for the upcoming season and the extension will kick in for 2024-2025. The 2023 all-pro player will turn 27 years old in October.
Davis’s Historic Contract Extension
Davis in early August signed a record-breaking contract extension. He and the Lakers agreed to a three-year $186 million extension. His $62 million annual extension is the biggest in NBA history locking him up through the 2027-2028 season.
Are the players overpaid or is the future?
The massive payday for the players has had mixed feelings among NBA fans and insiders. In Brown’s case, his ability to improve every year and he is entering his prime makes him perfect for the contract. Not to mention he even qualified for the Supermax by earning second-team all-pro (earning all-pro is a requirement) this past season. On the other hand, to the casual fan, Brown is not worth the pay raise. Especially when the pay raise is the highest contract in league history and he is not even the best player on his team. Although Brown is not a top-five player in the league, the Celtics are still looking to compete for a title and cannot afford Brown to leave in free agency.
If the Celtics did not resign Brown, the organization would never hear the end of it from the media and especially their fan base. It wouldn’t be surprising if Brown’s teammate Jayson Tatum signs an even bigger contract in the fall or by the end of next season.
Davis’s contract extension is a little more eye-opening. He is known to be an “injury-prone” player and can have trouble staying on the floor. Despite these knocks, when Davis plays, he is one of the most dominant players on the floor. In November, not only did Davis have 21 rebounds in one game, but dropped 37 points. He is a top-five player in the league when healthy.
Without Davis, the Lakers would not have made the conference finals and especially would not have won the NBA Finals in 2020. Just like the Celtics, the Lakers want to compete now and in the future.
Contracts Historically Increase
The NBA Players Association (NBAPA) and the NBA agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Under the new agreement, which goes into effect starting next season, the salary cap projection can rise a maximum of 10% per season.
The table below shows the relationship between the salary cap and the highest-paid annual contracts.
Year | Highest Paid Player | Annual Contract | NBA Salary Cap | Annual Contract % of salary cap |
2009-2010 | Kobe Bryant | $23 million | $57 million | 40% |
2015-2016 | Kobe Bryant | $25 million | $70 million | 35% |
2021-2022 | Stephen Curry | $45 million | $112 million | 40% |
2023-2024 | Damian Lillard | $51 million | $136 million | 38% |
2028-2029 | Jaylen Brown | $69 million | $172,602,000 million (projected) | 40% |
This table clearly shows when the salary cap increases, a player’s contract increases. It’s also important to point out that the highest annual contracts were consistently between 35%-40% of the salary cap. In other words, $69 million a year might seem a lot right now but Brown’s annual contract might be the norm by the 2028-2029 season if the cap stays at the projected rate.
Expect Big Pay Raises
As said earlier, it wouldn’t be surprising if more teams extend their superstar players sooner than later. Players will get paid an enormous amount of money in years, maybe even months to come and that will be the new normal. In other words, Brown will not be the only player that will earn $69 million a year by 2028-2029. There is also a good chance that in order to pay the players’ salaries, the NBA will expand. That being said, Seattle might finally get a team once again.