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NBA · 30 FRANCHISES

NBA career earnings by franchise

$44,222,973,980 across 775 careers, the Los Angeles Lakers the biggest single franchise at $2,572,097,026.

Career money carried by each roster as it stands: every man on the books, and everything his contracts have been worth across every season anywhere. It is not a payroll and it is not a wage bill, it is what the room has earned.

TOTAL $44.22bn
BIGGEST $2.57bn
FRANCHISES 30
CAREERS 775
TOP THREE HOLD 16.3%

The richest franchises

Career money earned by the players on them

Top three hold 16.3%

Los Angeles Lakers $2.57bn Los Angeles Clippers $2.41bn Golden State Warriors $2.24bn Milwaukee Bucks $2.11bn Phoenix Suns $2.05bn Miami Heat $1.99bn Denver Nuggets $1.93bn Houston Rockets $1.67bn Atlanta Hawks $1.62bn Minnesota Timberwolves $1.60bn Philadelphia 76ers $1.58bn Dallas Mavericks $1.56bn Portland Trail Blazers $1.50bn Memphis Grizzlies $1.47bn New York Knicks $1.38bn

Every franchise ranked

Total career money, and what it comes to per career

30 franchises

# Franchise Careers Per career Top earner Span Career money
01 Los Angeles Lakers 29 $88.7m LeBron James 2003 to 2026 $2,572,097,026$2.57bn
02 Los Angeles Clippers 24 $100.5m Paul George 2007 to 2026 $2,412,286,387$2.41bn
03 Golden State Warriors 27 $83.1m Stephen Curry 2004 to 2026 $2,244,246,470$2.24bn
04 Milwaukee Bucks 29 $72.6m Giannis Antetokounmpo 2003 to 2026 $2,105,686,328$2.11bn
05 Phoenix Suns 25 $81.9m Kevin Durant 2007 to 2027 $2,048,365,896$2.05bn
06 Miami Heat 23 $86.5m Jimmy Butler 2003 to 2026 $1,989,440,988$1.99bn
07 Denver Nuggets 21 $91.7m Nikola Jokic 2006 to 2027 $1,925,521,385$1.93bn
08 Houston Rockets 31 $54.0m John Wall 2001 to 2026 $1,674,058,890$1.67bn
09 Atlanta Hawks 25 $64.9m Trae Young 1998 to 2027 $1,622,343,214$1.62bn
10 Minnesota Timberwolves 21 $76.3m Karl-Anthony Towns 2007 to 2028 $1,601,765,905$1.60bn
11 Philadelphia 76ers 24 $65.8m Joel Embiid 2006 to 2026 $1,579,954,014$1.58bn
12 Dallas Mavericks 24 $64.9m Kyrie Irving 2006 to 2026 $1,557,596,953$1.56bn
13 Portland Trail Blazers 31 $48.5m Damian Lillard 2010 to 2027 $1,503,821,238$1.50bn
14 Memphis Grizzlies 24 $61.2m Ja Morant 2006 to 2028 $1,467,617,304$1.47bn
15 New York Knicks 27 $51.0m Kemba Walker 2008 to 2026 $1,375,890,813$1.38bn
16 Chicago Bulls 20 $67.8m Zach LaVine 2009 to 2026 $1,356,774,980$1.36bn
17 Brooklyn Nets 31 $43.8m Blake Griffin 2000 to 2026 $1,356,353,870$1.36bn
18 New Orleans Pelicans 23 $57.4m C.J. McCollum 2009 to 2027 $1,319,700,942$1.32bn
19 Sacramento Kings 23 $51.5m Domantas Sabonis 2007 to 2027 $1,184,999,628$1.18bn
20 Boston Celtics 20 $57.5m Al Horford 2007 to 2026 $1,150,724,854$1.15bn
21 Cleveland Cavaliers 23 $49.6m Darius Garland 2004 to 2027 $1,141,929,980$1.14bn
22 Utah Jazz 30 $37.0m Jordan Clarkson 2005 to 2026 $1,109,618,586$1.11bn
23 Charlotte Hornets 27 $41.0m Gordon Hayward 2010 to 2028 $1,107,966,791$1.11bn
24 Oklahoma City Thunder 33 $33.1m Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 2006 to 2026 $1,091,753,087$1.09bn
25 Washington Wizards 30 $35.9m Danilo Gallinari 2007 to 2026 $1,077,311,261$1.08bn
26 San Antonio Spurs 24 $41.4m LaMarcus Aldridge 2006 to 2026 $992,496,978$992.5m
27 Toronto Raptors 25 $38.8m Thaddeus Young 2007 to 2027 $970,248,346$970.2m
28 Indiana Pacers 25 $37.0m Tyrese Haliburton 2012 to 2028 $923,957,074$924.0m
29 Detroit Pistons 27 $33.0m Bojan Bogdanovic 2009 to 2027 $891,317,968$891.3m
30 Orlando Magic 29 $29.9m Gary Harris 2012 to 2026 $867,126,824$867.1m

Per career is the total divided by the number of careers in it, and it reorders the table: Los Angeles Clippers pays $100,511,933 a career, against a ranking by total that is led by Los Angeles Lakers.

Frequently asked questions

Which NBA franchise has the richest roster?

Los Angeles Lakers, $2,572,097,026 across 29 careers, an average of $88,693,001 each.

How is a franchise total worked out?

Every career on the current roster, added together across every season each man has been paid anywhere. It is career money carried by a roster rather than a historical payroll, so a player who earned most of it at another franchise brings all of it with him.

Which franchise pays the best per career?

Los Angeles Clippers, $100,511,933 per career across 24 of them.

Which franchise is bottom?

Orlando Magic, $867,126,824 across 29 careers.

Where to next

The seasons, the franchises and the rest of the league

Every season

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