NBA Draft 2015: Rookie payout scale

The NBA Draft is a special night for the best amateur players in the world, but just how much money will the top picks be getting and what will it cost a team to draft someone?

When the NBA Draft comes and goes, the dust will eventually settle and teams will have to pay up for their young players of the future. Things aren’t as crazy as they once were with the NFL, as the NBA has managed to curb it’s rookie pay scale rather well thanks to the CBA.

It may not be perfect, but the CBA has kept rookie salaries from getting out of hand. That doesn’t meant they’re something that teams look forward to dealing with.

Here’s a look at the rookie pay scale for the 2015-16 season and beyond:

While teams are always looking for hot young talent, there are front offices around the NBA who are skittish to draft someone knowing they’re going to have to take money out of the free agency pool. Franchises like the Chicago Bulls, who are up against the luxury tax and in danger of going over, have incentive to trade their first-round picks for spare parts or a lower pick if it means saving money against the cap.

That’s the strategy in balancing a front office budget and also looking for the top talent in the country. Players will outplay their rookie contracts and get more money on later deals, but even if they flame out and become busts, the money isn’t that bad no matter where you’re picked in the first-round.

More from NBA

• Predicting NBA’s Christmas Day Schedule: Lakers, Warriors highlight slate of postseason rematches
• 3 reasons the Blazers should trade Damian Lillard to the Heat and 2 reasons they shouldn’t
• LeBron James, Giannis, Damian Lillard all want that Mbappé money
• Jaylen Brown signs richest contract in NBA history without a left hand
• NBA rumors: Pistons determined to trade Killian Hayes