When the third highest-paid player in the NBA hasn’t suited up in two years — and hasn’t played a meaningful minute for even longer — it makes it really tough to argue in favor of higher NBA salaries. But the crux of the argument is that not all NBA players are underpaid. In fact, only a few are, while almost all of the rest are overpaid — with salaries ranging from “justifiable” to “armed robbery”.
It’s unlikely that anyone is crying for LeBron James, who clocks in at $19,067,500 and actually took less money to form the Big Three in Miami. You know who else makes that much, though? His teammate, Chris Bosh. You can’t convince anyone those two players hold the same value, outside of playing together on a two-time defending NBA championship team. Do you know who makes more than LeBron? Joe friggin’ Johnson, who is the poster child for the 2011 lockout, and why NBA teams aren’t shelling out terrible contracts for role players and borderline All-Stars anymore. Err, nevermind.
However, one properly paid NBA player also happens to be the highest-paid, and the only one who appears on ESPN’s Top 25 Highest-Paid Athletes list: Kobe Bryant. Yet, Kobe’s $30+ million salary still ranks behind a trio of soccer stars, a trio of NFL quarterbacks (Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford — yes, that Matthew Stafford), and Floyd Mayweather.
Head on over to ESPN.com to see the breakdown of the four major American sports.
[ESPN]
