NBA vs NHL Money, Supermax Cash Kings, NBA Contenders & Pretenders
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There is a version of you 10 years from now BEGGING you to enjoy right now a little more. I talked about this last week and I’m going to continue hammering it home, stop waiting, choose to enjoy today, choose to enjoy the small things, choose to enjoy this chapter of your life. Count your blessings. Stay hungry, stay humble. Let’s get to it!
Top 3 NBA vs NHL Salaries: Who’s Cashing In Bigger?
Let’s talk money, fam! In the NBA, Steph Curry’s leading the pack at $55 million—well-earned for the sharpshooting legend. Then you’ve got Jokic and Embiid, both at $51 million. Jokic is a beast, but Embiid? Dude’s only played 18 games this year—more DNPs than dunks! Now, flip to the NHL: Auston Matthews tops out at $13.25 million, Nathan MacKinnon’s at $12.6 million, and Connor McDavid—arguably the best skater alive—sits at $12.5 million.
Here’s where it gets wild: Daniel Gafford, the 120th highest-paid NBA player, pulls in $13.4 million. That’s right—120 NBA guys make more than the NHL’s elite! Who’s Gafford, you ask? Dallas Mavs center, 22 minutes a game, solid 12 points, 7 boards, and 1.5 blocks. Not a superstar, but he’s out-earning McDavid. Insane, right?
So why the gap? The NBA’s a global cash machine—over $10 billion in revenue last season compared to the NHL’s $6 billion-plus. TV deals tell the story: NBA’s current ESPN and TNT contract nets $2.6 billion a year; NHL’s NBC deal? Just $625 million. And next year, the NBA’s new $76 billion, 11-year deal with ESPN, NBC, ABC, and Amazon kicks in—averaging $7 billion annually. More cash, bigger paychecks.
Roster size plays a role too. NBA teams split a $141 million salary cap across 15 players—about $9 million each. NHL’s $88 million cap gets divvied up among 23 skaters—roughly $3.8 million per. That’s 2.5 times more per player in the NBA before endorsements even hit! Hockey’s max contract caps at 20% of the salary cap—$17.6 million this year. But the NBA’s supermax? That’s 35% of the cap for elite vets—think $50 million this season. To qualify for the supermax players must be in the league for 7 years, named all-nba/MVP/DPOY and playing for the same team that drafted them unless traded within first 4 years of their career.
NBA SuperMax Money
Speaking of supermax, two studs were in line this year. First, Canada’s own Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—SGA! He’s chasing the second Canadian PG MVP crown after Nash. Seventh year in the league, back-to-back All-NBA nods, and he’s poised for a monster $294 million deal next year when the cap spikes. Smart move waiting for the league’s new contract to kick in—and possibly an even smarter move? He ditched his agent this week. Agents cap out at 4% of player contracts—that’s $12 million saved on a $300 million contract.
I respect the move, as the big number is not even up for debate, it’s 35% of the salary cap, I just hope he pays attention to the finer print in the contract. At the end of the day, SGA is a boss on and off the court with a Converse signature shoe, brand deals with Canada Goose, and now Skims, I just hope he stays away from the Kardashian athlete trap. You in your prime bro. Please keep it business only my guy!
Then there was Luka but the Mavs did him dirty. I am still not over that trade, not sure I ever will be.. Reports out of Dallas say he showed up out of shape, but let’s not forget—this guy dragged the Mavs to the Finals! Last year: 33.9 points, 9.8 assists, 9.2 rebounds. Fastest to 10K points since his airness - MJ, second-fastest to 1,000 threes, five All-NBA First Teams before 26, Joined Lebron as the only two players to ever record 10K points, 3k boards and 3k dimes before 25, He was loved by the Dallas faithful, Luka is a legend already. I still don’t get it–I would love to hear your guys take on that?
Now after saying all that. This is going to lead us into our contenders and pretenders this week. We got one team for each.
Larry O Contenders and Pretenders
First up, Luka vs. the Mavs in LA. Everyone expected a 40-point revenge game, but J Kidd said nah—double-teams, box-and-one, the whole kitchen sink. Luka adapted, dropped a triple-double, and LeBron’s 16 in the fourth sealed it for the Lakers. Loved Luka’s fire—staring down the bench, even catching a tech. Passion on full display!
But my biggest takeaway from that game? The Mavs are contenders. Kyrie’s a wizard—35 points, practically unguardable. They showed depth with Dinwiddie, Klay, and Christie, despite missing all three bigs—AD (or as Stephen A calls him Street Clothes), Lively, and Gafford. Only lost by 7! If those bigs get healthy, watch out, West. I’m calling a Mavs-Lakers playoff clash - Book it! Give the people what they want.
And for the record, Lakers win the trade as Luka will be a superstar for the next 10 years, but I do think the Mavs have a 2 year window to win a chip with this current squad.
Detroit Pistons
We are talking about the Pistons for the first time since the Ben Wallace and Larry Brown days? That 2004 championship squad was tough. Chauncey, Rip, Tayshaun, Sheed and Big Ben. They even blew the 03 pick on Darko. The legendary ‘03 draft: Bron, DARKO, Melo, Bosh, Wade.
Arguably the greatest draft in NBA history along with MJ’s ‘84 and Kobe’s ‘96. I wonder if they still would have won in 2004 with melo bosh or wade, obviously from a skill perspective those three are killers, but I always thought there would have been a different dynamic.. I guess we’ll never know.
Now, to today’s Pistons who have won 8 straight! Cade Cunningham’s arrived, folks—26 and 10 a game, smooth as silk. Six guys in double figures, thanks to his playmaking. JB Bickerstaff’s coaching magic—turned Cleveland around, now has taken Detroit from dead last to sixth in the East after eight straight Ws. Huge step forward this season, young team, no playoff experience. Happy for the growth but I don’t think we’re ready to see a run in Motown.
NFL Combine
We’ll end things off in Indy, where they kicked off the NFL Combine and runs through Sunday. Love seeing draft stock soar—kids literally securing the bag with one big weekend!
Thought it seems like we’re seeing fewer top stars showing up—Shedeur Sanders skipped it for his pro day in Boulder. Thought he’d want to prove he’s QB1 over Cam Ward, but him staying in Boulder tells me he’s cool with QB2 vibes. Can’t blame ‘em—home field, familiar receivers, less risk. Next week, we’ll break down combine winners and dive into some mock drafts.
Closing
That’s all for today. Appreciate you tuning in. Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button, leave a review, leave a comment, show some love, talk some shit, let’s keep the convo going.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
