NBA Draft pick salaries by round: How much do rookies make?

Mar 21, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) watches replay during a game against the Washington Wizards at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) watches replay during a game against the Washington Wizards at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 21, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) watches replay during a game against the Washington Wizards at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) watches replay during a game against the Washington Wizards at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports /

Every player selected in the NBA Draft is slotted into the rookie salary scale depending on where they were chosen. How much are their rookie salaries?

The NBA has had a rookie wage scale since the 90s. Every rookie that is selected in the first round is given two guaranteed years and two team options years on every contract. The amount of money that a player makes on any given contact depends on where they get selected.

Every one of the first-round picks is slotted into a specific salary figure for each of the first three years, along with percent raises for the options years.

What is the rookie salary for each player taken in the NBA Draft?

The first pick in this draft will be getting $9,212,600 in salary in his first year. This decreases by 10 percent for the next player so on. By the end of the first round, players are only making a little less than $2 million — the No. 30 pick makes $1,828,300 in their first season. After their first year with the team, each player makes a five-percent raise.

For second-round picks, it is a bit different. Most second rounds picks have one or two years. The salary for the top picks in the second is around the same as for the first-round picks.

For the rest of the class, it starts around $500K. The keyword when it comes to the second round is guaranteed money. Obviously, the player wants to get the whole contract guaranteed. That will not happen in a lot of cases and there is more flexibility for teams and players to negotiate under the max salary.

Next. The best NBA Draft pick of all time at every slot. dark

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