What the NBA Rookies Are Making for 2008-09

The NFL has a problem. Rookie salaries are escalating at an alarming rate and players are receiving millions of dollars before stepping foot on the gridiron. Although their contracts are non-guaranteed, the amount of guaranteed money is rising. Jake Long, the offensive lineman drafted by the Miami Dolphins, got $30 million guaranteed. Meaning he can be a total bust with the #1 pick and still never have to work again.

One solution for the NFL is to adopt the rookie wage scale that the NBA has adopted. Each first round pick gets 2 years guaranteed money, with a team option for the next 2 years, giving them essentially a 4-year contract. If you don’t pan out, the team doesn’t extend the contract. If you do, then the team will negotiate an extension (a la Chris Paul).

Check out what Derrick Rose, Beasley, OJ, and the rest of their rookie brethren will be making for the next 4 years.

Pick	1st Year: Guaranteed	2nd Year: Guaranteed	3rd Year: Team Option	4th Year: Team Option	Qualifying Offer
1	$4,019,000	$4,320,400	$4,621,800	$5,828,090	$7,576,520
2	$3,595,800	$3,865,500	$4,135,200	$5,218,620	$6,810,300
3	$3,229,200	$3,471,300	$3,713,500	$4,693,860	$6,158,350
4	$2,911,400	$3,129,700	$3,348,100	$4,235,350	$5,586,420
5	$2,636,400	$2,834,200	$3,031,900	$3,841,420	$5,093,720
6	$2,394,600	$2,574,200	$2,753,800	$3,491,820	$4,658,090
7	$2,186,000	$2,349,900	$2,513,900	$3,192,650	$4,281,350
8	$2,002,600	$2,152,800	$2,303,000	$2,929,420	$3,948,850
9	$1,840,800	$1,978,900	$2,117,000	$2,697,060	$3,654,510
10	$1,748,800	$1,879,900	$2,011,100	$2,564,150	$3,492,380
11	$1,661,300	$1,785,900	$1,910,500	$2,535,230	$3,470,730
12	$1,578,200	$1,696,600	$1,815,000	$2,501,070	$3,441,470
13	$1,499,300	$1,611,800	$1,724,200	$2,463,880	$3,407,550
14	$1,424,400	$1,531,300	$1,638,100	$2,426,030	$3,374,600
15	$1,353,100	$1,454,600	$1,556,100	$2,385,500	$3,334,930
16	$1,285,500	$1,381,900	$1,478,300	$2,267,710	$3,186,140
17	$1,221,200	$1,312,800	$1,404,400	$2,157,160	$3,045,910
18	$1,160,200	$1,247,200	$1,334,200	$2,052,000	$2,911,790
19	$1,107,900	$1,191,000	$1,274,100	$1,962,110	$2,797,970
20	$1,063,600	$1,143,400	$1,223,200	$1,886,170	$2,702,890
21	$1,021,000	$1,097,600	$1,174,200	$1,870,500	$2,695,390
22	$980,200	$1,053,700	$1,127,200	$1,854,240	$2,684,950
23	$941,100	$1,011,700	$1,082,200	$1,836,490	$2,672,100
24	$903,400	$971,100	$1,038,900	$1,817,040	$2,656,510
25	$867,200	$932,300	$997,300	$1,796,140	$2,638,530
26	$838,500	$901,400	$964,300	$1,738,630	$2,566,220
27	$814,300	$875,400	$936,400	$1,689,270	$2,505,180
28	$809,300	$870,000	$930,700	$1,679,910	$2,503,070
29	$803,400	$863,700	$923,900	$1,667,640	$2,501,460
30	$797,600	$857,400	$917,200	$1,655,550	$2,483,320

You can see how important it is to be drafted in the first round, where the money is guaranteed, versus the second round, where it’s not. You can also see why a kid like Darrell Arthur, who was expecting to go in the top 15 ($1.35 mill), can be upset when he’s selected 27 ($814,000) based on a bogus medical report.

Second round picks and undrafted free agents get a non-guaranteed contract for the league minimum of around $400,000 with a team option for the second year. So you can see why a guy like DeAndre Jordan or CDR are sweating right now after leaving school early for the league. They not have to make the team, which is pretty much a certainty, but def not a given.

The NFL would be wise to implement some sort of rookie wage scale to control the escalating salaries, but I doubt the Union and Gene Upshaw would ever agree to such a thing.

Derrick Rose is about to make a good piece of change though isn’t he?

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Tags: Derrick Rose, Mike Beasley, NBA Draft, NBA Salaries, OJ Mayo