Basketball players on average earn significantly more than football players. The average salary in the NBA in 2020 was 8.32 million while the 2020 average salary for an NFL player was 3.26 million.
This means on average NBA players are going to be making over twice as much as NFL players.
The NBA is the highest paid of the major four sports leagues in North America. The NFL sits third on the list of average salaries with the NBA and MLB in front of them.
Why are basketball players paid more than football players?
Knowing that football is the most viewed sport in the United States you may be surprised that basketball players make more money.
Below we will cover some of the main reasons that basketball players are higher paid on average than football players.
Smaller Roster
The main reason that basketball players make more money than football players is due to the size of the roster.
In the NFL the roster is going to fit a total of fifty-three players during the season. While an NBA roster has a total of fifteen players during the season.
Both of these teams need to fit under the salary cap. Though the salary cap is different between these two leagues the amount of players under the cap makes a huge difference.
With fifty-three players, an NFL roster is 3.53 times larger than an NBA roster. If the salary is split evenly among each player then the NBA is going to be much higher.
The NFL salary cap in 2022 is 208 million dollars. The NBA has a salary cap of 122 million dollars.
Despite the NFL having a much higher salary cap NBA players make more on average. This is because there are fewer players to pay on an NFL team.
Additionally, an NFL roster is going to have many more players that rarely get onto the field. Players such as long snappers or depth players are not going to be vital to a team winning the game.
Compare this to the NBA in which almost every player on the roster is going to play some minutes on the court.
Each NBA player on the roster is likely to be more vital than each player on an NFL roster. This gives them the ability to argue for good salaries while depth NFL players do not have much ground to stand on.
Guaranteed Money
Another reason that NBA players make more than NFL players is due to guaranteed money.
When signing a contract in the NBA a greater percentage of the money is going to be guaranteed. This means that the player will receive the money no matter what, even if they are injured or cut from the team.
In the NFL only a portion of most contracts is guaranteed. Players will often see guaranteed money in the first year or two of the feal while the end of the contract can be terminated by the team.
This results in NBA players earning more as their earnings will not stop if they are injured or their performance falls off.
International Draw
One final reason that NBA players are able to earn more than NFL players is due to the international attention basketball receives. It is no secret that football is bigger than basketball in the United States but this is not the case around the world.
Many countries all across the world consider basketball to be one of the main sports. This simply is not the case for football which is primarily played in North America.
This results in the NBA earning money from more than just the North American market. Some of these earnings are reflected in players’ salaries as increased revenue for the league usually means an increased salary cap.
That’s all on basketball vs football salaries to learn more check our guide to who makes more baseball or football players.
