When you’re a professional sportsperson, you’re entitled to expect that you’ll earn more money than the average person in the street. That goes with the territory. There’s so much television, ticket, and sponsorship money involved in top-level sport that it would be unfair if performers didn’t get their fair cut of it. That being said, there are still occasions when a player signs a contract that’s so lucrative it makes fans jaws drop. We’ve seen that happen very recently when Giannis Antetokounmpo signed his new contract with the Milwaukee Bucks and became the highest-paid player in NBA history.
Just in case you somehow missed the initial reporting of the deal, Antetokounmpo’s new contract nets him $228.2m over five years, which works out at more than $45m a year. It’s an almost unbelievable figure, but the Bucks feel that it’s a worthwhile investment for a two-time MVP who’s still approaching the prime of his career. If he can lead the team to championships, they’ll get their money back. That’s the gamble they’re taking, and we think it’s up there with any gamble we’ve even seen taken on the Basketball Star online slots game. Granted, almost nobody would consider placing a seven-figure sum on a single spin of an online slots game (and most online slots websites wouldn’t even take such a bet), but the unpredictability of such games means you’re never quite sure what might happen next. In a lot of cases, the answer to that question is ‘nothing,’ but for the luckiest of UK slots players, there’s a jackpot waiting. The Bucks certainly hope this high-stakes wager will land them a jackpot in the future.
The “Greek Freak’s” new deal made us think about who else has signed record-setting contracts or had big-money years in the past, and so here’s our breakdown!
James Harden, Houston Rockets ($228m)
Antetokounmpo’s new contract pushes him marginally ahead of James Harden of the Houston Rockets, who signed a $228m deal in July 2017. That was an increase on Harden’s previous $29m-per-year deal, which still had two years to run when he signed the extension. At the time he signed the deal, Harden said that Houston was his home and he had no intention of leaving. He’s rewarded his team with some big-time performances since then, but he apparently doesn’t feel like Houston is his home any longer. This year he was offered a further extension that would have made him the league’s highest-earning player once more, but he turned it down in the hope that he might land a move to either Philadelphia or Brooklyn. Money can buy you a lot of things, but it can’t buy you loyalty.
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder ($205m)
Russell Westbrook’s contractual status is complicated, and you could make an argument that he’s the sport’s true highest-paid player. Switching between Oklahoma, Houston, and Washington within two years has disrupted his career, but it’s also seen him pocket a lot of cash. His $205m contract extension with the Thunder in 2017 was picked up by Oklahoma and is now held by the Wizards, and still has three years to run. When you factor in the fact that the Wizards have paid additional money on top of his contract, you could say that his deal actually pays him $233m over six years. We’re not going to say that because that’s not what was specified on the contract when he signed it, but we know some people will!
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors ($201m)
Stephen Curry’s contract was the biggest in NBA history when he signed it in July 2017, but his status as the record holder lasted only a few days before Harden surpassed him. We suspect Curry didn’t mind – $201m for five years of work strikes us as a great deal, and we’re sure he remains grateful for it. He’s missed more time through injury during the past year than he’d ideally have liked, but he’s back to full fitness now and looking good for 2021. Considering there were once concerns that his ankles weren’t up to the rigors of playing regular NBA-level basketball, it’s fair to say that Curry has surpassed the expectations that were placed upon him when he was a rookie.
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers ($200m)
When you have a top-tier Point Guard, you keep hold of him and don’t let go. The Trail Blazers didn’t want to let go of Damian Lillard in June 2019, and so they dug deep and found $200m to convince him to stay. Unless something goes wrong with the relationship between the player and his team, he’ll stay where he is until the end of the 2025 season, giving Portland what should be the best years of his career. In addition to the massive new contract, Lillard is also picking up the remaining value on his old one, which gives him a total of $257m to look forward to over the six years to come. Nice work if you can get it.
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors ($190m)
Klay Thompson narrowly missed out on breaking through the two hundred million dollar barrier when he signed his new contract in July 2019. At thirty years old, he might never get a bigger offer, but we’re sure he doesn’t lose any sleep over that. The Warriors might be losing sleep after signing off on this investment, though. Thompson badly tore his Achilles in November and, short of a medical miracle, won’t be taking to the court at all until the end of 2021. That follows on from a torn ACL that kept him out of the entire 2020 season. Thompson’s career hangs in the balance, but his bank balance doesn’t.
While you might have known that some or all of the players on this list are big earners, perhaps it’s more notable for who’s not on it. LeBron James’s contract doesn’t come close to making the top five, and nor does Kevin Durant’s. Basketball is moving on to a new era of younger, richer players. Within the next year or two, we’ll probably find out who the first player to crash through the $250m barrier will be, and who’s willing to spend that kind of figure on a single investment. Whoever it might be, it’ll be interesting to see whether they prove to be worth the money.
