The 2024 NBA Draft is shaping up to be very different from its predecessors.
The sentiment among many draft experts is that the draft does not have high-end top talent — with The Athletic's Sam Vecenie not including a single player in his top two tiers despite having 16 players in those tiers in the previous four seasons.
There's so much uncertainty at the top of this class, as many are still determining who the Atlanta Hawks will select with the first pick, a far cry from the surefire selection of Victor Wembanyama last season.
However, regardless of the caliber of the draft, the draftees will still make a fixed salary based on when they are selected.
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Only the 30 first-round selections will receive guaranteed contracts that last four years but give the team the option to keep the player for another two years of the deal. Second-round picks—there are only 28 of them this year because the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers lost their selections due to violations of the league's tampering rules—do not receive the same guaranteed contract from the teams that drafted them.
Teams can negotiate contracts with their second-round picks, which could range from a standard contract to a two-way deal. However, these contracts limit the number of games these players are eligible to play in the NBA.
Players not drafted by a team are still eligible to make an NBA roster as several teams sign these undrafted players after the draft. Some are given the opportunity to showcase their skills in the summer league and training camp to make the team and can get contracts similar to second round selections.
Going undrafted is not the worst thing in the world for players and is sometimes even better than going in the second round, as it allows certain players to find a team with a roster situation that could increase their chances of making the roster. For reasons like this, agents such as Rich Paul, who is the agent of LeBron James, and his son, 2024 NBA draft aspirant Bronny James, have spoken in the past about how he has tried to tell some teams not to draft his clients.
Ultimately, getting drafted to the NBA is a life-changing moment, particularly for those who receive guaranteed deals. Young men, some of whom are still teenagers, receive seven—or eight-figure deals that are life-changing. Even considering the arrival of NIL in college, this is a different level of income.
How much the 2024 NBA Draft Picks will make
The top pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, whether it's one of the Frenchmen in Zaccharie Risacher or Alex Sarr, or an American like Donovan Clingan will sign a contract worth close to $57.2 million over four years, or an average of about $14.3 million per year., according to Spotrac.Text
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That's 3.6% more than Wembanyama's contract worth almost $55.2 million over four years.
That percent increase coincides with the jump in the salary cap between the last two seasons, a modest increase from about $136 million to $141 million. The salary cap increased by 10% between the prior two years, which is why Wembanyama made 10% more than 2022 top pick Paolo Banchero whose deal was about $50.1 million over four years.
It pays to be picked at the top as the 2024 top pick will have a total contract that's over $6 million more than the second overall pick. The Washington Wizards will select a young player who will make $51.2 million over four years, or about $12.8 million per year.
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The gap continues to show itself further down. Falling out of the top ten nets a players less than half of the contract of the top selection as the 11th pick gets a $24 million deal over four years.
The final guaranteed contract — the 30th pick of the first round — receives a $12.8 million deal that averages to around $3.2 million every year.
Because second round picks don't have guaranteed deals, teams are not subject to bring on the player. However, if teams do decide to bring on their second round pick, the players and teams can negotiate the details of the deal. Deals can go up to three years with the first year equivalent to the minimum deal of a player with at least a year of service.
This year, that number should creep around $2 million annually, a relatively good amount to make for a 20-something year-old, but still a drop of at least a million versus a first-round selection.
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