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NBA Draft: Here’s How Much First—And Second—Round Picks Will Earn As Rookies

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NBA Draft: Here’s How Much First—And Second—Round Picks Will Earn As Rookies

Topline

With the 2024 NBA Draft continuing into its second night on Thursday, a group of NCAA hopefuls and foreign stars will vie for just 28 remaining highly coveted second-round picks, earning them lucrative NBA deals for up to four years.

Key Facts

Unlike the first 30 players selected, second round picks do not have specific salary restrictions, meaning players and their agents can agree any contract with one of the 28 teams selecting picks in the second round (the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns were docked second-round picks for violating league rules in the draft in 2022 and 2023, respectively).

Over the course of a four-year contract, the first overall pick of the draft is expected to make $57.19 million, according to estimates from Spotrac.

Total four-year payments gradually decrease from there, to $51.18 million for the second overall pick in the first round, $45.98 million for the third, then $41.47 million and $37.57 million for the fifth pick—down to $12.84 million for the 30th pick of the first round.

That comes out to $12.61 million in the first year for the first overall pick, $11.28 million for the second, and $10.13 million for the third—and $2.50 million for the 30th.If that contract value holds up, the first overall pick would narrowly outpace the first-year deal secured by San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, who landed a $12.16 million rookie deal last year.

It would also beat Paolo Banchero’s 2022 contract with the Orlando Magic as first overall pick, which hit the league max at $11.6 million, while in 2021, Cade Cunningham’s max rookie contract with the Detroit Pistons gave him $10 million in his first year.

The first two years of each rookie’s contract are guaranteed, according to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, and those deals can be extended for a third and fourth year, with annual salary increasing throughout the length of those contract periods.

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Surpsrising Fact

For the second straight year, the top pick in the NBA Draft came from France, and this year, the top two picks both come from France: Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta Hawks) and Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards).

Tangent

Some of the biggest names in college basketball have also been raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars on so-called name, image and likeness deals. Those lucrative endorsements were made possible for college student-athletes following the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in NCAA v. Alston, in which the court ruled the college athletic association’s limitations on student compensation violated federal antitrust laws. Later in 2021, the NCAA voted to allow college athletes to make money from endorsements, though they cannot be directly compensated for their play by their schools. Some of the biggest deals this year involved Duke’s Jared McCain, who pulled in an estimated $1 million in deals with Champs Sports, Crocs and RECOVER 180. North Carolina star Armando Bacot, meanwhile, is estimated to make $930,000 in endorsements, including with BOA Nutrition and Dunkin Donuts. Recently signed WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark is estimated to have made $3.1 million in NIL deals, including major partnerships with Gatorade and Nike.

Further Reading

ForbesMarch Madness: Here Are The Biggest NIL Deals In College BasketballBy

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