- Stephen Curry will become the first player in NBA history to make $50 million in a season in 2023-24
- Three members of the Phoenix Suns are among the nine players set to make at least $50 million in 2024-25
- Stephen Curry has been the highest-paid player in the NBA every season since 2018-19
Over the last 25 years, the NBA has become such a successful brand that players have seen their contracts increase to historic levels. Stephen Curry has been the highest-paid player in the NBA for some time now and was the first player to earn $40 million in a season for the Warriors in 2019-20. In 2023-24, Curry is set to become the first player in NBA history to earn $50 million in a season. In 2024-25, things are set to take an unprecedented turn in the NBA once again as nine players are set to break the $50 million mark.
Today, we will break down these nine players and what they have done to earn such exponential contracts. We will also take a look at how each player will fare in their groundbreaking seasons as the only players to ever earn this kind of money on an annual basis. These players will be under immense pressure to perform and deliver on these historic earnings they’’ have in just a year’s time, but the question remains if they will live up to it or not.
Without any further ado, it is time to take a look at the nine players set to make over $50 million in 2024-25.
9. Bradley Beal – $50,203,930
The first player who will earn over $50 million for the 2024-25 season is Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal. After waiving his no-trade clause to come to the Suns earlier this summer, Beal is set to make $46.74 million in his first season with the team before it increases to %50.2 million next season.
Beal originally signed this massive deal with the Washington Wizards following the 2021-22 season which included one of the only trade clauses in NBA history. The five-year, $251 million contract followed back-to-back 30.0 points per game seasons in 2020 and 2021. Despite being injured for over half of the 2022 season, the Wizards extended Beal only to trade him one year later to Phoenix.
With the Suns, Beal’s contract will be worth $53.66 million in 2025-26 and have a player option worth $57.12 million in 2026-27 all while maintaining his no-trade clause. The Suns are banking on Beal returning to All-Star form alongside new teammates Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in order to help lead the team to their first championship in franchise history. The Beal trade was the second move of Mat Ishbia’s tenure in Phoenix that turned heads and has made the Suns a potential powerhouse on the court.
8. Kevin Durant – $51,179,020
The first move that Ishbia pulled off as Suns owner was the trade deadline blockbuster last season that brought Kevin Durant to Phoenix. Already, this gives the Suns two players in 2024-25 who will earn over $50 million of the nine that there are, and we aren’t done with the list yet.
After the trade last season, Durant would play just eight games in the regular season, averaging 26.0 points per game on 57.0% shooting from the field. He then started all 11 playoff games as well and averaged 29.0 points per game on 47.8% shooting from the field. Despite their loss to Denver in the second round, Durant is part of yet another Big 3 that is set to compete for an NBA championship if all goes according to plan.
Durant signed this monster deal with the Brooklyn Nets in 2021 that is supposed to pay him $194 million over four years. After reaching the $51.18 million mark in 2024-25, Durant will then make $54.7 million in 2025-26 before hitting the free agency market barring another extension. This clearly shows that Phoenix is as serious as it gets about finally delivering their fans a championship with over $101 million invested in two players by the 2024-25 season.
T5. Joel Embiid – $51,415,938
The NBA’s reigning MVP Joel Embiid is also one of the nine players who will reach a $50 million-plus salary by 2024-25 with the Philadelphia 76ers. Embiid inked his massive deal with Philadelphia in 2021 after finishing runner-up for MVP to Nikola Jokic, just as he would do again in 2022 before winning the award in 2023.
Embiid’s deal is set to earn him $51.41 million in 2024-25 as well as $55.2 million in 2025-26 and gives him a player option of $59.03 million in 2026-27. After back-to-back scoring titles and an MVP win, it is easy to see why the 76ers remain so heavily invested in the big man who recently committed to Team USA for the 2024 Olympics.
The main concern with Embiid as his deal goes on is of course his health. Between foot and knee injuries, Embiid has missed a ton of time during his NBA career and has been forced to play through injuries during the NBA playoffs. Another concern is his postseason meltdowns that have seen the 76ers fail to make it past the second round of the playoffs any time during Embiid’s tenure. If he wants to make the deal worth it for Philly, he will have to deliver in the NBA playoffs moving forward.
T5. LeBron James – $51,415,938
LeBron James is the only player on this list who has not signed past the 2024-25 season. James’ deal with the Lakers will expire following 2024-25 when he is 40 going on 41 years old. James has shown his value even as he ages which is why the Lakers have had no issue paying him such a substantial amount of money.
James is 38 years old heading into the 2023-24 season when he will make $47.6 million before he has the opt-in for his player option next season. Likely, James will consider going elsewhere depending on what his son, Bronny James does with his college play and how his health is doing that time.
Is James worth over $50 million at 40 years old? I mean, is any 40-year-old worth that much? As LeBron has shown us though, he is not your typical 40-year-old player. He is still a top 10-15 player in the NBA at this time and the way he looks physically could play well into his forties. James will have to prove he is still on that level a year from now to warrant any other team spending over $50 million on his services beyond that point.
T5. Nikola Jokic – $51,415,938
If any player on this list deserves to be paid over $50 million, it is Nikola Jokic. Over the last three seasons, Jokic has ascended to the top of the NBA hierarchy with back-to-back MVP wins in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, Jokic would take it a step further as he led the Denver Nuggets to their first championship in franchise history while claiming Finals MVP honors.
Jokic’s monster contract extension was inked at the end of the 2022 season and will keep him in Denver through 2026-27 with a player option worth $62.8 million in 2027-28. Jokic will make $47.6 million in 2023-24, $51.4 million in 2024-25, $55.2 million in 2025-26, and $59.03 million in 2026-27.
Jokic has already earned every cent he has made with the Denver Nuggets and then some. Even if he doesn’t lead them to another championship by 2026-27, he has already done enough to be considered worthy of the money coming his way. Jokic has changed the way the center position is played through his incredible playmaking and passing skills that have made him one of the most unguardable players in the NBA today.
T2. Karl-Anthony Towns- $52,150,000
I am on record already stating that Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the most overpaid players in the NBA right now. Towns signed his massive extension at the end of the 2022 season, an offseason that was filled with changes for the Timberwolves roster. In his first season after the extension, Towns would play only 29 games averaging his worst numbers since his rookie season in 2016.
Towns looks completely lost on the court with Rudy Gobert in the frontcourt and will likely not be playing a traditional power forward role moving forward. He needs space to operate and be able to get his perimeter shots off which will come with more and more time on the floor together. It remains to be seen if Towns will return to the All-Star player he was before the extension but for now, he remains as overpaid as any other player in the NBA.
T2. Jaylen Brown – $52,150,000
For the last few seasons, the Boston Celtics have been vague in their commitment to Jaylen Brown in the future. This summer, they made it very clear they intend to keep him on their roster for a long time as they handed him the largest contract in NBA history worth $304 million over five years.
The deal will kick in for the 2024-25 season, increasing his salary from $31 million to over $52 million in 2024-25. By the end of his deal in 2028-29, Brown will be earning $65.6 million on an annual basis. Brown has earned this money by being one-half of a top duo in the NBA right now. He has helped the Celtics make four different Eastern Conference Finals appearances and an NBA Finals appearance in 2022.
The only way this investment is worth it for Boston is if Brown and teammate Jayson Tatum can lead the Celtics to an NBA championship. Anything less will be considered a failure. When you give a player over $300 million in a deal, they are expected to be on an All-NBA level or a main component of a championship team. Brown will have to prove his worth over the next five seasons.
T2. Devin Booker – $52,150,000
One of the final players to earn over $50 million come 2024-25 is Devin Booker. This gives the Phoenix Suns three players who will earn over $50 million in 2024-25, an investment they hope can give them at least one NBA championship. Booker will earn $36.02 million in 2023-24 before his extension with the Suns kicks in for 2024-25.
Booker will be under contract with Phoenix through 2026-27 when he will earn $61.63 million annually. Booker has earned this contract by ascending to the top of the NBA’s shooting guard ranks over the last few seasons as the best-scoring and most efficient player at his position. Now, the Suns will look for him to take the reins of their franchise for the foreseeable future as they pursue an NBA title.
As is always the case, this kind of investment from Phoenix in Booker, Durant, and Beal will be seen as a complete failure unless they end up winning an NBA title. Booker has a bit more of a loose leash considering he has already been to an NBA Finals and is a Phoenix-lifer up to this point. Booker will continue to be one of the top shooting guards in the NBA but he is only truly worth $50 million if he can lead the Suns and become an NBA champion.
1. Stephen Curry – $55,761,217
As was the case with Nikola Jokic and LeBron James, Stephen Curry has earned the right to be the first player in NBA history to earn at least $50 million in a season as he will in 2023-24. In 2024-25, Curry’s streak of being the highest-paid player in the NBA will reach its seventh season and, as it stands right now, he will be the highest-paid NBA player through 2029.
As the greatest shooter in NBA history, Stephen Curry has captured four NBA championships, a Finals MVP, and two MVP awards since 2015. Honestly, the Warriors should do whatever they can to keep him there for life, and they have with a gargantuan financial commitment. Even if they handed Curry a blank check and told him to fill it out, I do not think many around the NBA would even bat an eye.
Although he has nothing left to prove in his NBA career, Stephen Curry can still make a statement while earning upwards of $50 million annually over the next few seasons. He can prove that his style of play is not only timeless but still effective in winning an NBA championship. The doubters have come out once again for Curry and the Warriors and the best way to silence them is how he has done so many times before, by winning an NBA championship and laughing all the way to the bank.Â
