Kobe Bryant will make $53.2 million this year in the business of basketball. That sound you hear is me pounding my head on my desk in frustration with myself for not learning each and every teaching point offered in The Kobe System earlier. It was all right in front of me, and I didn’t listen to the guy. That’s on me I suppose, and I’m not saying I’m particularly surprised that Bryant would finish atop a Forbes list ranking the highest paid NBA players in combination of their playing salaries and endorsement deals either. I figured he would, but the number is still staggering.
I also thought the drop-off from LeBron James and his second place $49 million annual earnings, to Dwight Howard and his third most combined dollars of $28.9 million, was pretty significant too. Dwight’s paid to be sure, but while James only trails Kobe by about $4 million in this department, Howard is distant $20 million away from the numbers that James is hanging on essentially the ultimate NBA scoreboard right now. Sure rings matter, but I dunno, I wouldn’t be too shook up about not having one if I was still making $50 million dollars every year despite whatever 4th quarter shots I ended up missing in crunch time. Suppose that’s what makes Kobe Bryant number one though.
After Kobe ($53.2 million), LeBron ($49 million), and Howard ($28.9 million), the rest of the list reads like this according to Forbes:
#4 Dwayne Wade – Earnings: $27.7 million: The 7-time NBA All-Star has a shoe deal with the Jordan Brand, which now generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue for Nike. Wade’s $15.7 million annual salary is less than he could get elsewhere, but it allowed Miami to sign both LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
#5 Carmelo Anthony – Earnings: $26.5 million: Anthony forced a trade last year to the Knicks from the Denver Nuggets and received a 3-year contract worth $61 million. The deal includes a player option in year 4 worth $24 million. He makes about $8 million a year from endorsements.
#6 (tie) Amar’e Stoudemire – Earnings: $26.2 million: The 29-year-old power forward put the Knicks back on the NBA map in 2010 when he signed a 5-year, $100 million agreement with the team. He re-signed with Nike this summer in a 5-year deal.
#6 (tie) Kevin Garnett – Earnings: $26.2 million: “The Big Ticket” has earned $270 million in salary during his 16-year career—second only to Shaquille O’Neal. Off court the ticket is smaller, with just $5 million a year from endorsements.
#8 Kevin Durant – Earnings: $24.5 million: The 2-time NBA scoring champ is in the first year of a 5-year, $85 million contract with the Thunder. A 7-year deal with Nike earns the bulk of his $9 million annual off-court income.
#9 Tim Duncan – Earnings: $23.3: The 3-time NBA Finals MVP is considered one of the greatest basketball players ever. The 35-year-old’s best days are behind him, but he was still chosen as an All-Star in 2011 for the 13th straight year. Duncan is in the final year of a 2-year, $40 million contract extension he signed with the Spurs in 2007. He makes about $2 million from endorsements.
#10 Chris Paul – Earnings: $22.4 million: Paul’s profile is soaring with his move from New Orleans to Los Angeles in a December trade that will pay him $16.4 million on the court. Sponsors, including Jordan/Nike, Powerade and Upper Deck, give him another $6 million.
Next year I expect Kevin Durant and Chris Paul to make a major jumps on this list too. Eventually I gotta think that there will be enough endorsement dollars out there to push KD into the top five, and there’s a chance Chris Paul could garner that much more attention as well out in LA. Especially if both of their teams end up winning deep into June this summer. And if KD ends up winning the title I predicted he would in our season preview, maybe he’s on his way to Kobe status in a few years. Regardless though, I think all these guys will be fine. They already won big.
