NBA chiefs signed a blockbuster 11-year TV rights deal worth $76billion in July.
The agreement with Disney, NBC, and Amazon is a massive boost for players, who will reap the rewards from the influx of money.
Anthony Edwards’ next contract could be worth nearly half a billion dollars
This season’s salary cap is set at $140.6million and that figure is set for a dramatic rise.
Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, and Joel Embiid have all signed bumper contracts over the offseason.
Including his sixth-year player option, Taytum’s deal was the league’s first $300million-plus extension.
But thanks to the new rights package, salaries are being tipped to top $450million by the end of the decade.
In 2016, the previous TV cash bonanza saw a $24million spike in the salary cap for the following season.
The 32% jump saw teams aggressively spend in a league-wide arms race, and the Golden State Warriors were able to add Kevin Durant to an already star-studded roster – leading to claims they had unfairly benefited.
This time around, the cap will increase incrementally.
Per the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the figure will never fall but cannot rise by more than 10% annually – starting in 2025 when the new deals kick in.
Forbes crunched the numbers and found that a 10% yearly increase would mean a five-year, 35% max deal would top $400million by 2029 and $450million in 2030.
At 23 years of age, Anthony Edwards could be in prime position to bag the eye-watering figure six years from now.
Haliburton will average $48million a year
Brown has $288million guaranteed in his extension
The Minnesota Timberwolves star caused a stir in August after claiming Michael Jordan was the only skillful player of past generations.
“I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it,” Edwards told the Wall Street Journal.
“They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then.
Most lucrative NBA contracts
1 Jayson Tatum, Celtics: Five years, $314 million
2 Jaylen Brown, Celtics: Five years, $285 million
3 Nikola Jokic, Nuggets: Five years, $276 million
4 Bradley Beal, Suns: Five years, $251 million
5= Anthony Edwards, Wolves: Five years, $244 million
5= Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers: Five years, $244 million
“[Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean?
“So that’s why when they saw Kobe [Bryant], they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But now everybody has skill.”
Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson took a dim view of the claims.
“I don’t never respond to a guy that’s never won a championship,” the 65-year-old told ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith.
“There’s not nothing to really say. He didn’t win a college championship.
“I don’t know if he even won a high school championship.”
