What is the average and median NBA salary for 2023-24 by position?
We all know the salary figures on the NBA's biggest contracts but what does the average player make per season at each position?
It's no secret that the NBA is the place to be for athletes looking to get paid. Jaylen Brown received headlines around the world after signing a contract that could be worth over $300 million dollars in total, but he's not the only one reaping the benefits of the NBA's ballooning salaries.
While some other leagues may boast top-end salaries as high or higher than the NBA's biggest stars, for the journeyman, NBA salaries are a cut above the rest.
Don't believe me? Well, according to contract data from Spotrac, the average NBA salary for the 2023-24 season was just shy of eight figures at a cool $9.7 million dollars for the season, the highest of any team sport in the world (beating out Indian Premier League [cricket!], Major League Baseball, and English Premier League, according to Statista).
The median contract for the 2023-24 season was lower, at $4.6 million, but still not a bad year's work for most people.
The NBA just negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement, and with new TV deals expected to dramatically increase revenue and the salary cap, contracts will only be getting bigger. There is a fear that the new CBA could squeeze the NBA's middle class, leading to a more barbell-shaped distribution of salaries ("stars and scrubs," in other words), but that still remains to be seen.
What is the average and median NBA salary for 2023-24 by position?
We do see some interesting splits when we look at average and median salaries by position:
PG: $11.8M average salary, $5.8M median salary
SG: $8.9M average salary, $4.0 median salary
SF: $8.5M average salary, $3.5 median salary
PF: $9.9M average salary, $5.6M median salary
C: $9.4M average salary, $4.2M median salary
Point guard is clearly the most highly valued position by median and average salary, while the small forward has become the least valued.
As a caveat, note that these are all base salaries. Certain players have incentives that could push their final pay even higher, but the incentives are usually relatively small.
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