30 richest players in the NBA
By John Buhler
Russell Westbrook
Point Guard, Oklahoma City Thunder
Though he has only been in the NBA for nine seasons, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook is well on his way to becoming one of the richest players in NBA history. The 28-year-old point guard out of UCLA has earned an estimated $102,723,800 through the 2016-17 NBA season.
Westbrook was the No. 4 pick by the then-Seattle SuperSonics in the 2008 NBA Draft. He would sign a two-year deal worth $7.25 million with a team option for 2010-11 and 2011-12. Oklahoma City would obviously exercise those two teams options, paying him $4 million and $5.08 million, respectively in those two seasons.
Westbrook would sign the five-year rookie scale max in January 2012 worth $78.6 million. In August 2016, Westbrook would sign a three-year contract extension with the Thunder worth $85,591,823.
Built into his latest deal with the Thunder is a player option for 2018-19. Westbrook can either opt in and make $30,521,115 in 2018-18 or he can hit unrestricted free agency in summer 2018 to see if he can’t make a little more.
Though he has been loyal to the Thunder through his NBA career, it is advantageous for him to opt out and see if he can’t use the threat of signing elsewhere as leverage in negotiating a fourth contract with the Thunder.
From the looks of it, Westbrook silenced the doubters when he first came into the league. He tore it up in his first four NBA seasons, setting himself to be a very wealthy man before he exits his prime sometime in his 30s. Should he play out his three-year deal with the Thunder, Westbrook stands to make roughly $161,775,523 before his 31st birthday.