NBA teams will withhold more than $30 million from player paychecks on Friday, as players receive their first salary reduction since the league and union agreed to a plan to temporarily cut pay by 25%.
But six of the NBA’s top 10 earners this season — LeBron James, Stephen Curry, John Wall, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant and Paul George — have already been paid in full and will not see a pay decrease Friday.
Their salary reductions will come out of their advances for the 2020-21 season on Oct. 1 or beginning with their Nov. 15 paychecks. Each player will essentially have an IOU per paycheck to his team ranging from $390,000 (James) to $420,000 (Curry) each time there is a scheduled 25% pay reduction. That amount will increase if games are eventually canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.