Basketball-related income (BRI) came in at $10.25 billion, per Sportico. That sounds like a staggering number, but it’s actually below the projections the league was hoping to reach. As a result, players will only make 90.9% of their salaries from the 2024-25 season, forfeiting a collective $480 million. Buckle up, because we’re about to do a little math. The NBA has had an escrow system in place since 1999, ranging from 8% to 10%. The league’s collective bargaining agreement currently gives players 51% of BRI, with the escrow typically split between players and owners. However, the surge in the league’s salary cap over the past decade or so led to players receiving 100% of the escrow for three straight seasons, from 2014-15 through 2016-17. Then, COVID-19 hit in March 2020, shutting down the league for over four months. The escrow was raised to 25%, with a “ten-and-spread” system set for the following three years, hoping to even out any remaining irregularities between player and team earnings. This year, 91% of the escrow will go to teams, with the remaining 9% returning to the players. That means players will walk away with 90.9% of their original 2024-25 salaries. So, Stephen Curry, the highest-paid player in the NBA last season at $55.8 million, will forfeit $5.1 million of that salary. Former MVPs Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid will give up $4.7 million apiece, while the former Phoenix Suns duo of Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant will give up $4.6 million and $4.5 million, respectively. However, with the way the Suns’ season went, maybe fans in Phoenix think that’s a fair trade. In the grand scheme of things, these players should be okay. They all have off-the-court endorsement deals and partnerships that will likely more than make up the difference. Still, it’s a tough pill to swallow—imagine learning in the middle of summer that you had to give back about 9% of your earnings from the past year. That would feel crummy, no matter how much money you had to return.
