There is no doubt that NBA players are among the highest-paid professional athletes in the world. However, there are definitely some with higher earning potential than even NBA players, and it is something that we are witnessing in the soccer world right now.
There have been a lot of recent reports that have revealed that Saudi Arabian soccer club Al-Hilal has made PSG an offer for the forward, with the transfer fee being $332 million, and his salary would be $776 million for just one season of play. In fact, some NBA players have already joked that they would join a Saudi Arabian basketball club on a deal if there were one. The highest-paid player during the 2023-24 season is Stephen Curry, with a salary of $51,915,615. However, even that pales in comparison to Kylian Mbappe’s earning potential in Saudi Arabia.
In fact, Kylian Mbappe’s potential salary of $776 million would allow him to earn more than the 15 highest-paid NBA players. Below, we have compiled a list of those players whose salary totals around $681 million. That is still almost $100 million less than Kylian Mbappe’s base salary with Al-Hilal. That is absolutely insane to think about, considering most of the players on the NBA list are the best of the best in the league.
Stephen Curry: $51,915,615
Joel Embiid: $47,607,350
Nikola Jokic: $47,607,350
LeBron James: $47,607,350
Bradley Beal: $46,741,590
Kevin Durant: $46,407,433
Paul George: $45,640,165
Kawhi Leonard: $45,640,084
Giannis Antetokounmpo: $45,640,084
Damian Lillard: $45,640,084
Jimmy Butler: $45,183,960
Klay Thompson: $43,219,440
Rudy Gobert: $41,000,000
Fred VanVleet: $40,806,300
Anthony Davis: $40,600,080
Total: $681,256,885
Kylian Mbappe: $776,000,000
There is no doubt that this deal for Kylian Mbappe could potentially be one of the most lucrative deals in sports history. Though the Saudi Pro League isn’t regarded as a top-tier soccer league, we have seen a number of high-profile players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, head over there due to the lucrative contracts that they would get. Ronaldo signed a contract worth $75 million annually with Al Nassr FC, which is bigger than Stephen Curry’s annual salary during the 2023-24 season, but still less than 10% of what Kylian Mbappe would make with Al-Hilal.
In this potential deal, Kylian Mbappe would only be guaranteed to play for Al-Hilal for one season before becoming a free agent. However, there are a couple of reasons for Al-Hilal to do this deal. Mbappe could end up signing an extension with the team, and he could end up as a billionaire sooner rather than later if he does so. On top of that, even if Mbappe doesn’t sign an extension, this deal would bring notoriety to the league, and having a top-tier player would definitely increase their profile. Ultimately, the goal is to simply convince others to join going forward, and Mbappe spending even one season in Saudi Arabia could help them improve their reputation on the world soccer stage and among players.
Though Kylian Mbappe would make more than pretty much every single NBA player if he were to move to Saudi Arabia, most soccer players don’t necessarily make as much as the highest-paid NBA star. For example, Erling Haaland, who is considered to be the best player on the Champions League-winning Manchester City team, makes around £19,500,000 a year, which converts roughly into $25,033,320. That is around what center Brook Lopez will make during the 2023-24 season ($25,000,000). Though Lopez is an elite defensive center, he is a role player in the NBA while Erling Haaland is a top-tier striker in the Premier League. Relative to median athlete annual salaries, the NBA is still top-tier in that department.
It will be interesting to see how NBA salaries continue to increase in the future. They have clearly been steadily increasing, with stars being paid more and more. In fact, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown could potentially sign the biggest contract in NBA history, which is worth $304 million over five years, with that being almost $61 million annually. Though it doesn’t seem likely that any NBA player will reach Kylian Mbappe’s $776 million one-year salary anytime soon, it is fair to say that the players are doing fairly well for themselves. The deals signed in 2023 NBA free agency surpassed $2 billion, and it is clear that player earnings, especially for stars, are higher than ever.
As of right now, it is unclear if Kylian Mbappe will ultimately agree to terms with Al-Hilal in the future. Though the financial incentives are clearly great, it is quite likely that Mbappe would rather play in a more competitive league such as the Premier League or La Liga. That would allow him to compete for more meaningful trophies, and ultimately improve his legacy and place in soccer history. The NBA equivalent of this potential deal would be a top-tier superstar like LeBron James moving to an overseas league in the middle of their prime. It would be absolutely unprecedented for something like this to happen. We have seen older players who can’t make it in the NBA join overseas leagues, but never a superstar in their prime.
Though legacy does factor into a player’s decision, $776 million over the course of one season is tough to pass up. Mbappe could end up as a free agent after playing out one season, sign with the European team of his choice, and be $776 million richer. That is a great proposition from a financial standpoint.
If Mbappe does move to Saudi Arabia, it will be interesting to see whether his potential contract ends up affecting future deals for athletes around the world. Though basketball isn’t necessarily a huge sport in Saudi Arabia right now, if they decide to establish a team in the future, perhaps we’ll see some NBA players head over there due to the immense financial incentives that are involved.
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