Ranking the Wildest Salaries and Contracts NBA Superstars Could Get Over Next 5 Years

The NBA appears to be on the precipice of signing new national TV contracts worth more than $7 billion annually, according to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal. That's a nearly three-fold increase over the current TV deals, which are worth $2.6 billion annually.

Once those deals get finalized, they're poised to have a massive impact on the NBA's salary cap moving forward.

Under the league's current collective bargaining agreement, the salary cap can increase by up to 10 percent each year. Since national TV revenue gets factored into basketball-related income (which determines the salary cap), the cap may increase by the full 10 percent each year beginning in 2025-26, which is when the new TV deals will go into effect.

As Keith Smith of Spotrac noted Wednesday, those 10 percent annual increases would send the cap skyrocketing to more than $200 million by the 2028-29 season. Based on current projections, a max contract beginning at 35 percent of the cap that season would be a five-year, $419.1 million deal with a starting salary of $72.2 million.

Unless the 2024-25 cap comes in higher than expected—it's currently projected to be $141 million—2028-29 is the first year that a player will be able to sign a $400 million contract. However, $300-plus million contracts could become commonplace as early as 2025-26.

Dive in to see which players could be headed for those types of paydays in the coming years.

Potential next contract: Five years, $314.8 million ($54.3 million starting salary)

After making an All-NBA team for the third straight season, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is now eligible to sign a supermax extension this summer that begins at 35 percent of the 2025-26 salary cap. If he turns down his $37.1 million player option for the 2025-26 season, he can sign a five-year extension worth a projected $314.8 million in total.

Tatum's teammate, Jaylen Brown, currently holds the record for the NBA's largest contract at five years and a projected $286.2 million. Tatum is poised to blow that record out of the water this summer by signing the NBA's first $300 million contract:

• 2025-26: $54,285,000
• 2026-27: $58,627,800
  
• 2027-28: $62,970,600
  
• 2028-29: $67,313,400
  
• 2029-30: $71,656,200
  
• Total: $314,835,000
  

Tatum is the only player who became eligible for a supermax extension this offseason by virtue of making an All-NBA team, but a few notable players could also break the bank as free agents in 2025. If Donovan Mitchell doesn't sign a four-year, $208.5 million extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer, he'll be eligible to sign a five-year, $269.9 million contract with them as a free agent next offseason. (Other teams could only offer him a four-year, $200.1 million deal.)

Since Mitchell got traded after his rookie-scale deal expired, he won't be eligible for a 35 percent max contract even if he makes an All-NBA team next year. That isn't the case for New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, who did get traded while he was still on his rookie-scale deal.

If Ingram makes an All-NBA team next year, he'll be eligible for the same five-year, $314.8 million supermax contract in 2025 that Tatum can sign this summer. Otherwise, the Pelicans can offer him the same nearly $270 million deal that the Cavaliers can offer Mitchell.

Potential next contract: Five years, $346.3 million ($59.7 million starting salary)

Players with 10 or more years of NBA experience are eligible to sign contracts with a starting salary worth 35 percent of the salary cap, whereas most players with 7-9 years of NBA experience can only sign for 30 percent of the cap. There are exceptions to that rule, though, which Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić is now poised to exploit next summer.

To qualify for a supermax contract early, a player needs to win MVP or Defensive Player of the Year in any of the past three seasons, make two All-NBA teams in the past three seasons or make an All-NBA team in the most recent season. They also need at least seven years of NBA experience.

Dončić has made five straight All-NBA teams, which guarantees him supermax eligibility even if he misses the All-NBA team next season. However, he has only six years of NBA experience, so he isn't eligible to sign a supermax extension until next offseason.

Dončić is signed with the Mavericks through 2025-26, and he has a $49.0 million player option for the 2026-27 season. If he turns down that option, he'll be eligible to sign a five-year supermax extension with the Mavericks next offseason worth a projected $346.3 million, with a starting salary of $59.7 million in 2026-27.

• 2026-27: $59,713,500
• 2027-28: $64,490,580
  
• 2028-29: $69,267,660
  
• 2029-30: $74,044,740
  
• 2030-31: $78,821,820
  
• Total: $346,338,300
  

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was not eligible to make an All-NBA team this year because he fell short of the new 65-game minimum. However, he now has 10 years of NBA experience, which means he'll be eligible for the same five-year, $346.3 million supermax extension that Dončić is next summer. (Like Dončić, Embiid also has a player option for the 2026-27 season worth $59.0 million.)

Potential next contract: Four years, $294.3 million ($65.7 million starting salary)

Like both Jayson Tatum and Luka Dončić, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the All-NBA first team Wednesday. That means he'll likewise be eligible to sign a record-setting contract extension next summer.

Gilgeous-Alexander is signed through the 2026-27 season, and unlike Tatum and Dončić, he doesn't have a player option on the final year of his contract. That means he can only sign a four-year extension next summer worth a projected $294.3 million. The starting salary of his new deal in 2027-28 would be $65.7 million, and the final year would top out at $81.4 million, which would make him the first player in NBA history with an $80 million salary.

• 2027-28: $65,684,850
• 2028-29: $70,939,638
  
• 2029-30: $76,194,426
  
• 2030-31: $81,449,214
  
• Total: $294,268,128
  

If Gilgeous-Alexander waits to extend until 2026-27 and remains supermax-eligible—he'd just need to make one All-NBA team in either 2024-25 or 2025-26 to do so—he'd be able to sign a five-year contract worth nearly $381 million. He'd earn a brain-breaking $86.7 million in the final year of that supermax extension.

The Thunder can create more than $35 million of cap space this offseason, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac, so they still have the flexibility to build out their roster around Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. But once those three sign new contracts—Holmgren and Williams are only signed through 2025-26—OKC will have its hands far more tied.

Potential next contract: Five years, $419.1 million ($72.3 million starting salary)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić is fresh off winning his third MVP in four years, and he already has nine seasons of NBA experience under his belt. That means he'll be eligible for a supermax extension beginning at 35 percent of the salary cap once he's up for a new deal.

Jokić is under guaranteed contract through 2026-27, and he has a $62.8 million player option in 2027-28. If he turned down that player option, he'd be eligible for the same five-year, $381 million extension that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can potentially sign in 2026-27.

In the unlikely event that Jokić picks up his 2027-28 player option, he could sign the NBA's first $400 million contract.

• 2028-29: $72,253,335
• 2029-30: $78,033,602
  
• 2030-31: $83,813,869
  
• 2031-32: $89,594,135
  
• 2032-33: $95,374,402
  
• Total: $419,069,343
  

That could buy a whole lot of horses.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo finds himself in the same boat as Jokić after signing a three-year extension this past fall. He's on a guaranteed contract through 2026-27 and has a projected $66.8 million player option in 2027-28. If he turns down that player option, he'd be eligible for a five-year, $381 million extension that would begin in 2027-28, or he could pick up his player option and sign a five-year, $419.1 million extension that would begin in 2028-29.

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, who is under guaranteed contract through 2027-28, will also be eligible for the same five-year, $419.1 million deal beginning in 2028-29.

Potential next contract: Five years, $461.0 million ($79.5 million starting salary)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards just received an extra $41 million on his upcoming extension by making an All-NBA team this year. If he remains an All-NBA fixture throughout the rest of the decade, he could become the first player in NBA history to sign a contract worth more than $450 million.

Edwards is signed through the 2028-29 season and doesn't have a player option on his new deal. If he makes an All-NBA team in 2026-27, he'd be eligible to sign a four-year extension that summer worth a projected $356.1 million. But if he waits to extend until 2027-28, he'd be eligible for a five-year extension worth a projected $461.0 million as long as he meets the supermax criteria.

• 2029-30: $79,478,669
• 2030-31: $85,836,962
  
• 2031-32: $92,195,255
  
• 2032-33: $98,553,549
  
• 2033-34: $104,911,842
  
• Total: $460,976,277
  

Yes, you read that correctly. If the cap does increase 10 percent annually throughout the remainder of the decade, players will be able to sign contracts with a final-year salary north of $100 million by the 2029-30 season.

In other words, Forbes needs to start making more room on its billionaires list. A number of the NBA's top stars could start forcing their way on there by the early 2030s (if not sooner).

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.