NBA D-League Top Earners in 2015-16
Quite some time ago it was brought to our attention that cash rules everything around us and while that may still hold true; cash is the 500-pound elephant in the room when it comes to the NBA D-League. The league has been in existence since 2001, but its importance to NBA franchises has really began to ramp up the last five years or so.
More and more talent is being mined from the league, however pay scales have remained abysmally low when compared to its parent league. Players are still locked into three salary tiers starting at $13,000 and reaching a peak of $25,500. So, why would any high-level prospect stick around and how can they afford to when there’s so much money to be made around the world playing this beautiful game?
Well, first NBA teams realize that each fringe NBA guy faces this conundrum and while they cannot guarantee players a spot on their 15-man roster, they can throw out some guaranteed money for certain players that come to camp and do not make the team. Training camp guarantees are a solid way for these players to earn some money and then stay close to home, and ultimately close to the NBA for potential call ups.
NBA clubs are comfortable doing this because each guarantee comes with an unwritten agreement that if you have a camp guarantee and you do not make that NBA club, you will stick around and play for said club’s D-League affiliate. NBA clubs can keep top talent close in case they are needed and while the players may make more money overseas, if they do not agree to this they likely will not get that camp guarantee. These payouts range from $5,000 – $150,000 so in many cases the amounts are even more — or at least equal — to what they are worth in the international market for one season.
In the graphic above, take notice that 11 of the 35 D-League players who earned a camp guarantee also earned at least one call up during the 2015-16 season. Two of those players — Jordan McRae and Axel Toupane — earned multi-year contracts with the club who signed them as well. Again, this is all about players betting on themselves and while not every player in the D-League is NBA ready, the fact that they can be playing in Sioux Falls, South Dakota one night and then be signed to the NBA the next is a tantalizing dream that some simply cannot pass up.
Also interesting to note is which teams are paying these training camp guarantees and how much are they paying. Of the 15 teams who paid out camp guarantees to D-League players last season, only six made the playoffs. What might be even more interesting are the teams not paying these guarantees, even when they have a D-League affiliate for players to be allocated to after camp.
The Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat combined to allocate 30 players to their D-League affiliates and yet did not pay any training camp guarantees to those players. So, that’s nine teams who decided that they would not pay this camp money and eight of those teams ended up being playoff teams this season. The distinction? Players want to play for a winner. Teams without that playoff pedigree sometimes have to pony up some guaranteed money if they want top talent to attend their training camp.
In total, D-League players earned approximately $1.8 million from training camp guarantees and while that sum is a drop in the bucket for these collective NBA franchises, that’s a massive number when compared to D-League salaries.
The more known way that D-League players add to their earnings are NBA call-ups. This season there were 42 call ups and 32 different players earned their shot in The Association. Inevitably there will be some overlap from guys who also earned camp money but there were some newbies as well, which is paramount because it helps spread the wealth around the league. This league thrives on the mere fact that an NBA deal is just one phone call away because the same simply cannot be said for guys playing overseas, even though they are making more money 99 percent of the time.
In terms of call-ups and salary earned from call ups 2015-16 was much lower than 2014-15, however last season was the all-time high for both marks so a decline was likely. Last season, there were 63 call ups for 47 different players who amassed total earnings of approximately $9.7 million.
In 2015-16, total earnings reached $4.7 million with the average for each call up around $136K. Not too shabby for players expected to rake in $25,500 or less this year. Clearly this is an exclusive club as only 32 of the 300+ players who suited up for the D-League earned these call ups, but that’s the gamble these guys take and the overall exposure is well worth it down the line for most guys.
Some of the more notable call ups were Xavier Munford, Briante Weber, Jordan McRae, Sean Kilpatrick and last year’s Rookie of the Year and MVP Tim Frazier.
So payouts for call ups were down by more than half, however if you look at the last three seasons there have been 116 players called up earning a total of $21.2 million! Yes, the travel accommodations stink, yes the arenas are smaller, yes the games are mostly just on YouTube, but players can certainly earn a substantial wage and more importantly live out their childhood dream of playing in the pinnacle of professional basketball, the NBA.