It’s an annual Eurohoops tradition to present the top contracts of the EuroLeague, which essentially represent the top basketball contracts outside the NBA. After a summer in which it was evident that a lot of money was spent on the market, the final list remains almost shocking.
For the first time, the line to be included in the Top 10 is almost $3M net for a yearly salary.
With the
new and updated Financial Fair Play, in theory, EuroLeague clubs should be more prudent, but at this point, this doesn’t seem to be the case. On the contrary, getting a two-million net contract right now is not earth-shattering, and while no data are officially available, an educated guess about the EuroLeague median net salary being at least one million net, or bigger, would not be wrong.
For comparison’s sake with the NBA, the numbers presented are in US dollars and not euros, which is not used in all EuroLeague countries. The fact, however, that the Euro is currently again stronger than the dollar, makes things even more interesting.
Also, the numbers are net, as written already, for two main reasons. Taxation varies significantly from country to country, and even the EuroLeague takes into account net, not gross, salaries in its FFP calculations. Also, the numbers presented can be doubled for a comparison to NBA contracts, due to US taxation. That’s why only one player from a Spanish team is included in the list, because of the high taxes in the country, while
Panathinaikos has three players on the list, and the duo of
Olympiacos and Hapoel Tel Aviv has two each.
1. Vasilje Micic $5,6M (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
It was well-known that Micic
wanted to be the highest-paid player in Europe and got exactly that with a
three-year contract that is valued at 14M euros net. The exact clauses and details of the contract are unknown and complicated, with Hapoel owner
Ofer Yannay insisting that his team gave the same money that Micic was offered by other clubs, which is not the case, per Eurohoops sources. Also, the most puzzling quote is that Micic also got shares presumably of the club, which raises the question of how much they are valued. Still, according to sources close to the situation, Micic’s annual salary translates to $5,6M net, putting him on top of the Top 10 list, as he wanted.
2. Kendrick Nunn $5,3M (Panathinaikos)
Panathinaikos made Nunn the highest-paid player in Europe before the Micic deal happened, in a well-deserved extension that put an end to the player’s intention to explore the NBA market. After all, this contract means that Nunn should have gotten a $10M annual deal in the NBA just to get the same money, so Greece is the place to be for him. One may assume that if Nunn was bound to return to the NBA, this contract would have been offered to Micic, but this is something that we will never know.
3. Sasha Vezenkov $4,1M (Olympiacos)
In his second year of his new contract, Vezenkov remains among the highest-paid players in Europe, getting practically the equivalent of the contract he had in the NBA, and he left on the table to facilitate his return.
4. Shane Larkin $3,75M (Anadolu Efes)
Larkin, who has a contract until 2028, has been for more than five years, if not the highest paid player in Europe, then near the top of the list, and he keeps his position. The interesting detail this year is that he is in fourth spot, and three players are above him and above the $4M mark, which he had also reached in the past with his previous contract during the back-to-back EuroLeague triumphs of
Anadolu Efes.
5. Dzanan Musa $3,5M (Dubai BC)
Dzanan Musa was very well-paid in
Real Madrid, but his salary in Dubai was almost doubled. This also has to do with the fact that there’s no income tax in Dubai, contrary to the high taxation in Spain.
6. Evan Fournier $3,2M (Olympiacos)
The
details of the contract were never announced; however, per Eurohoops sources, Fournier’s salary matches his status as a player and also compensates him for playing last season “just” for $2,2M net for the Greeks.
7. Mathias Lessort $3,2M (Panathinaikos)
Despite getting injured, Lessort
signed an extension with Panathinaikos, which puts him on the list for the first time. It’s crazy if you think about it, but during the run to the EuroLeague title, Lessort was getting $1,7M net, which again was great, but his performance was even more valuable.
8. Kostas Sloukas $3,1M (Panathinaikos)
In the last year of his contract,
Kostas Sloukas has a sizeable raise on a deal that made him the second-highest paid Greek player ever, only behind Theodoros Papaloukas. Considering that he left
Olympiacos for Panathinaikos and got the EuroLeague, this is money well spent.
9. Mike James $3M (Monaco)
Monaco’s star and former EuroLeague MVP remains part of the Top 10 list, even if the tax-free money from Monaco
comes with a catch, if he has to pay US taxes. The interesting thing about him being in the 9th spot is that last year, the same contract was good enough for him to be third on the list.
10-11 Walter Tavares $2,7M (Real Madrid)
The situation of Tavares’ salary is also complicated due to Spanish taxation, as
explained last year. Still,
Real Madrid‘s center is the only player from the four Spanish EuroLeague teams who enters the Top 10.
10-11 Elijah Bryant $2,7M (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
After an impressive season in
Anadolu Efes, Bryant was compensated with the biggest contract of his career and instantly put Hapoel among the EuroLeague big spenders. It has to be noted that Israeli powerhouse
Maccabi, which for 25 years was the only EuroLeague team, never had a player among the Top 10 salaries, and Lonny Walker’s annual salary is reportedly $2,2M net. Last year, it would have been enough to include him in the Top 10, but things have changed…
