Stephen Curry tops $200 million as the 10 highest-paid NBA players earn $958 million

Walk into any NBA arena this season and the players on the floor are running businesses as much as they are running plays. Sneaker deals, media companies, investments, and podcasts sit beside guaranteed contracts in the portfolios of basketball's biggest stars, and the money moving through those ventures has reshaped what a fortune in the sport looks like. Fans who follow free agency or argue about trade value are tracking an economy in which one player's yearly haul can reach nine figures. The 10 best-compensated players in the league stand to collect $958 million this season. The sum beats last year's record of $902 million by 6% and more than doubles the $449 million their predecessors gathered 10 years earlier.

Outside income gives the NBA an edge over soccer, baseball, football, and hockey. The league's top 10 earners will pull in $469 million off the court, $89 million above the $380 million high from the prior season. Their counterparts draw $281 million off the field in soccer, $144 million in MLB, $84 million in the NFL, and $16 million in the NHL. Pay from teams has cooled. On-court earnings for the group slipped to $489 million, below each of the previous two seasons. The salary cap stands at $165 million, 75% above where it sat 10 years ago, and the collective bargaining agreement hands players about 50% of basketball-related income. A decade ago, the highest salary in the sport was $31 million, and 59 players will surpass it this season. The NBA signed an 11-year, $76 billion national broadcast package in 2024, and the deal took effect last season. Some around the league predicted the cap would climb by the 10% maximum every year. The increase this season came to 6.7%, and projections call for a similar rise in 2027-28. The league is on track to see its first $70 million salaries in 2029-30, and at least three players look set to reach that mark.

Forbes built its list from 2026-27 salaries on contracts the players had signed by Oct. 19, 2026. It rounded on-court figures to the nearest $100,000 and left out incentives that hinge on individual or team results this season. Off-court estimates draw on conversations with industry insiders, and the publication rounds them to the nearest $1 million. They capture yearly cash from endorsements, licensing, appearances, and memorabilia, plus cash returns from businesses in which a player holds a significant stake. Interest and dividends fall outside the tally, but payouts from equity stakes a player sold count toward it. All totals reflect money before taxes and agent fees. The ranking spans 10 players. Two of them share the seventh spot, so the order skips No. 8.

Stephen Curry stands to collect $203.6 million over the coming year, making the 38-year-old Golden State Warriors point guard the first active NBA player to pass $200 million in 12 months. Only three other athletes have cleared that bar since 1990 in figures unadjusted for inflation: boxer Floyd Mayweather, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, and golfer Jon Rahm. Holding the list's top spot for a second straight year, Curry gives basketball its first member of that club.

Off-court income supplies $141 million of the haul, shattering by $41 million the $100 million NBA mark Curry himself set in 2024-25. His sneaker loyalty shifted along the way. Curry split from Under Armour $UAA and joined Li-Ning in a partnership reportedly worth $400 million over 10 years, with a signature shoe due early next year. Under Armour expects its revenue to slip 1% because of the breakup. Chase, Rakuten, and newcomer Glaukos round out his sponsor roster. Curry is one of five athletes to reach $100 million in off-court income in a year while active, alongside Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Conor McGregor, and Shohei Ohtani.

His $62.6 million Warriors salary carries Curry past $60 million before any other NBA player. He has broken three pay barriers, reaching $40 million in 2019-20 and $50 million in 2023-24 ahead of everyone else in the league. The climb pauses next season. In September he signed a two-year, $116 million extension that drops his pay below $60 million and sits $20.7 million under the maximum he could have received. Taking the full amount would have meant $136.7 million over those two seasons.

Curry's 2016 MVP award, the league's first unanimous pick, heads a run of on-court milestones that mirrors his financial ones. He owns eight 3-point titles and became the first player to attempt 10,000 and make 4,000 career 3-pointers. His outside ventures pay him $78.4 million more than the Warriors do. The shooter who rewrote the 3-point record book earns more than twice as much away from the floor as on it.

Kevin Durant will collect $104.9 million this season, and $61 million of that sum flows from ventures off the court, outpacing the $43.9 million the Houston Rockets owe him to play. Business income accounts for about 58% of his haul. The 38-year-old forward pulls in $17.1 million more from sponsors and investments than from his basketball paycheck.

Durant accepted less than he could have commanded last October, signing a two-year, $90 million extension that left about $30 million unclaimed. He made the concession to preserve the Rockets' roster flexibility. The giveback leaves his place in league history intact. He remains on pace to overtake LeBron James as the NBA's all-time leader in on-court pay during 2027-28, when his career salary reaches $591 million.

Free agency offers Durant a route to push that future mark higher. He holds a player option he can decline, a move that would send him onto the open market in summer 2027 and position him to lift his career total.

CeraVe, Dick's Sporting Goods, and FanDuel enlist Durant as an endorser. Reports credit his family office, 35V, with a gain from Nvidia $NVDA's $12.9 billion deal to acquire Hugging Face. The 35V payoff shows his outside money extends past endorsement checks into ownership stakes.

Durant cofounded Boardroom, a media company that struck a distribution and ad-sales agreement with Wondery in June. Boardroom's podcasts will begin running across Amazon $AMZN services early next year, including Amazon Music, Prime Video, and Fire TV Channels. The Wondery agreement hands a company Durant helped build a route to Amazon's listeners and viewers.

Durant edges Giannis Antetokounmpo by $1.4 million in total compensation, even though Antetokounmpo's $58.5 million in wages exceeds his by $14.6 million. The $30 million Durant waived amounts to less than half of one year's off-court earnings. Sponsor and investment dollars carry him past every player except Stephen Curry, even after the discount he granted Houston.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo heads into his debut Miami Heat season on track to earn $103.5 million after a summer trade closed out 13 years with the Milwaukee Bucks. The 31-year-old forward draws $58.5 million in salary, about 57% of his haul, and adds $45 million from sponsorships and business ventures. His total trails Kevin Durant's by $1.4 million, the narrowest gap between any two players in the top five. Durant collects $16 million more away from the arena, and Antetokounmpo claws back most of that difference with a salary $14.6 million larger than the one the Rockets pay Durant.

Antetokounmpo has welcomed the change of scenery. In recent remarks about his new fan base, he said, "I feel energized. I feel alive." The words come from a player who treats the move as the opening of a second chapter.

His on-court pay equals Jayson Tatum's $58.5 million, yet Antetokounmpo finishes $17 million ahead of the Celtics forward thanks to deals outside basketball. His $45 million from those deals rests on partnerships with more than a dozen brands. Recent agreements with Gopuff, Kalshi, and Superpower include equity stakes, giving him a share of ownership in each company along with the partnership. The holdings tie part of his fortune to how those three companies grow, and the link holds whatever jersey he wears.

Florida levies no state income tax, an edge his Heat paycheck does not reveal. Leaving Wisconsin could let him keep millions more over the life of his next contract. He becomes eligible to sign an extension with Miami in January. He holds a player option for 2027-28, and declining it would put him on the free-agent market next summer. The tax savings depend on a contract that keeps him in Florida, so January gives Miami its first chance to secure both the player and the benefit.

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LeBron James will draw $3.9 million on the court this season, the smallest salary of his career and $100,000 below the $4 million he made as a rookie in 2003-04. The 41-year-old forward accepted the reduced figure to chase another championship as his playing days wind down, a move the list's authors call his "last decision." He arrives in Philadelphia after eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 76ers pair him with Joel Embiid, another member of this list, and added Jaylen Brown in the offseason. A decade ago, James commanded the biggest paycheck in the league.

James' discount explains the dip in the group's combined salaries, accounting for all but a sliver of the decline. Every other player in the group collects at least $40.8 million from his team, more than 10 times what James will receive. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sits at that floor, and he outpaces James by $36.9 million in salary.

Outside income carries James to $93.9 million for the year. He will pull in $90 million away from basketball, the most he has ever brought in off the floor. The sum exceeds his 76ers wages more than 23 times over and supplies more than 95% of his total. Stephen Curry is the only top-10 player who outearns him beyond the arena.

James has extended his brand into podcasting, publishing, and golf. He co-hosts the Mind the Game podcast with Basketball Hall of Famer Steve Nash. This year he released Happy Spooky Halloween!, his fourth children's book. A golf YouTube channel he launched in August has attracted 650,000 subscribers. Next year his foundation and the PGA Tour plan to stage a tournament in Akron, Ohio.

His $90 million in nonbasketball earnings beats the full totals of every player from the fifth spot through the 10th, a stretch in which Anthony Edwards' $87.9 million sits highest. James' ventures pay enough to keep him ahead of six of the sport's richest players, whatever a team offers him to play.

Anthony Edwards, the 25-year-old shooting guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves, earns $87.9 million this season, with $48.9 million in salary and $39 million from endorsements and other ventures. No one else on the list is younger, and the next closest players, Jayson Tatum and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are three years older at 28. Among the four players under 30, Edwards brings in the most off the court, topping Gilgeous-Alexander's $30 million, Tatum's $28 million, and Devin Booker's $11 million.

A five-year contract projected at $244.6 million sets his salary, and the current campaign marks its third year. Spread across five years, the deal averages $48.9 million, the same sum Minnesota pays him now. Two seasons remain after this one, locking in the cost of the franchise's star guard through 2028-29.

Edwards has made five consecutive playoff trips, and Minnesota strengthened its roster in July by trading for LaMelo Ball. Edwards laid out his mindset for the season in an interview this month. "I don't hope," he said. "I don't wish for nothing. It's straight will and determination. And we're going to show it every night."

Adidas and Sprite make Edwards a centerpiece of their advertising, and his newest announced partnership is with PrizePicks. His business slate extends to the second Believe That Awards, which streamed on YouTube through Three Fifths Media. Honorees included Coco Gauff and Michael B. Jordan, and Justin Bieber collected the "white boy of the year" prize.

Off-court income accounts for 44% of Edwards' total, nearly triple Booker's 16%. Gilgeous-Alexander, at 42%, is the only other player under 30 whose outside money exceeds a third of his haul, and Tatum falls short at 32%. Tatum draws $9.6 million more in salary than Edwards, yet Edwards collects $11 million more from outside deals and finishes $1.4 million ahead. With his salary set for two more seasons, sponsorships offer Edwards the clearest route to a bigger payday before the deal expires.

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Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics' 28-year-old forward, will earn $86.5 million this season after rebounding from a torn Achilles tendon. He was back in game action in March, less than 10 months after the injury.

Boston's $58.5 million salary supplies about 68% of his total, and only Stephen Curry's $62.6 million paycheck tops it on the list. Endorsements and business ventures contribute the other $28 million, or about 32%. Giannis Antetokounmpo draws the identical $58.5 million salary from the Miami Heat, yet his total runs $17 million higher. The entire gap traces to money made away from the court. Anthony Edwards offers a sharper contrast. His Minnesota Timberwolves salary trails Tatum's by $9.6 million, but $39 million in outside income lifts him $1.4 million past Tatum overall. Each of the five players above Tatum brings in more off the court.

Tatum's rehabilitation became a marketable story in its own right. NBC chronicled the recovery in The Quiet Work, a five-part documentary. Amica Insurance and Journavx built ad campaigns around his road back. The injury handed those companies a narrative with a clear arc, from the tear to the return. The months he spent away from games gave sponsors fresh material to sell.

AT&T $T, Coach, and SoFi round out his sponsor lineup. Tatum also cofounded candy maker Enjoy Small Wins, which gives him an ownership stake beside his paid partnerships. Counting Amica Insurance and Journavx, six companies connect to his business portfolio. The candy company is the only venture on that list he helped create.

Boston also reworked its roster, trading Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and draft picks. Brown now joins LeBron James and Joel Embiid in Philadelphia. Tatum opens this season with George as his new running mate. With only Curry drawing a bigger salary, Tatum's clearest route higher on the list runs through deals away from the arena.

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Jimmy Butler brings in $70.8 million this season. His Golden State Warriors salary supplies $56.8 million of that, and $14 million comes from work beyond the hardwood. The 37-year-old small forward splits the seventh spot with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, matching the Oklahoma City guard's total to the dollar.

Salary supplies 80% of Butler's earnings, a heavier reliance on a paycheck than most of the group shows. Among the 10, only Joel Embiid, at 85%, and Devin Booker, at 84%, depend more on their contracts. Butler's Warriors pay trails Booker's $57.1 million by $300,000 and outstrips Kevin Durant's $43.9 million by $12.9 million. Of the four players on the list aged 37 or older, only Stephen Curry commands a bigger salary. Butler is the youngest member of that veteran quartet.

Butler's $14 million in endorsement and business money sits third from the bottom among the 10, ahead of only Booker's $11 million and Embiid's $10 million. The figure equals less than one-tenth of the $141 million his teammate Curry generates beyond basketball. Jayson Tatum collects $1.7 million more than Butler from his club, yet his $28 million in outside income doubles the Warriors forward's haul.

Golden State fields two of the list's 10 earners on one roster. Butler and Curry combine for $274.4 million, close to 29% of everything the group collects. Their on-court pay adds up to $119.4 million, equal to about 72% of this season's league salary cap. The duo's off-court income totals $155 million, nearly all of it Curry's. Philadelphia also employs two members of the group, LeBron James and Embiid, yet that pair earns $61.9 million in team pay, a little more than half of what the Warriors duo receives.

Butler has embraced the sidekick role beside Curry. Speaking to NBC Sports, he cast his teammate as Batman and himself as a Robin who would be back shortly. The Robin label fits the ledger as well. Curry's total runs nearly three times Butler's.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander collects $70.8 million this season, matching Jimmy Butler's total to share the seventh spot on the list. The 28-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder point guard draws $40.8 million in salary and $30 million from ventures away from the game.

His $40.8 million paycheck is the second-smallest on the list, and only LeBron James takes home less from his team. James accepted a pay cut to chase a title, while the Thunder guard plays under the contract that precedes his raise. Endorsements and other outside deals supply about 42% of his earnings. Butler reaches the identical figure with $14 million from such work, which leaves Gilgeous-Alexander $16 million ahead on the business side. Butler is 37, nine years older than Gilgeous-Alexander. The tie pairs a veteran with a guard whose biggest contract has yet to begin.

Jayson Tatum, another 28-year-old, trails the Thunder guard by $2 million away from the court, even though his overall haul sits higher. Between the two peers, Gilgeous-Alexander draws more from commercial work while collecting less in total. Without that outside income, his salary by itself would sit below the full earnings of every other player here. His commercial deals make the difference between a salary that trails all but one peer here and a place on this list.

A four-year, $285 million extension takes effect in 2027-28 and averages $71.25 million per season. The yearly average runs $30.45 million above his current salary, a jump of about 75%. None of that money reaches him this season. His standing rests on the smaller deal he plays under now.

The extension's average outstrips every on-court salary on this year's list, Stephen Curry's included. It also edges past everything Gilgeous-Alexander gathers today from paychecks and business deals put together. Once the new deal begins, his team pay alone would outrun his entire present haul before a single endorsement dollar enters the picture.

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Devin Booker will pocket $68.1 million this season, and his Phoenix Suns salary accounts for $57.1 million of that haul. The 29-year-old shooting guard draws about 84% of his income from basketball wages, which leaves $11 million from ventures away from the arena. His fortune rests on the court more than on endorsements, and the terms of his deal and his recent season explain why Phoenix keeps investing in him.

A two-year, $145 million extension ties Booker to Phoenix and includes a free-agency option in 2029 or 2030. The option hands Booker control over when he next tests the open market. He rewarded the franchise's faith last season by steering the Suns through a 45-37 campaign, eight games above .500, that ended in a surprise playoff berth.

Booker turns 30 this month, and the five-time All-Star wants to hunt his own shot with more aggression. He linked that ambition to experience in comments to reporters in September. "As you get older, you learn new ways to train, new ways to take care of your body," he said. He also credited the long-tenured players he has studied: "I've been a sponge to a lot of guys that have had success and played a lot of years." His remarks frame the coming season as a test of longevity, a fitting focus for a player whose commitment from Phoenix runs into his 30s.

Booker's business portfolio stays compact and product-focused. He has partnered with Stanley on drinkware, and his Nike $NKE signature shoe comes in two versions, a Futura edition and one carrying the McDonald's $MCD logo. He also co-owns Coco5, a maker of coconut water sports drinks, and the company raised $10 million in January. With team pay supplying more than four-fifths of his money, the Phoenix contract and the timing of his free-agency option will shape Booker's bottom line more than any sneaker drop or funding round for a drink company.