Surprising player could be first in NBA history to make $80 million in a season

Feb 18, 2023; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; The NBA logo on the court at Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

NBA player salaries have skyrocketed in recent years, but you wouldn’t believe just how high they will get in the future.

The All-NBA teams for the 2023-2024 season were released on Wednesday. Some players are set to benefit financially from the honor in a big way.

ESPN NBA front office expert Bobby Marks noted that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who made the All-NBA team in 2023 and 2024, is eligible to sign a supermax extension. The extension would pay Gilgeous-Alexander $294 million over four years. The wildest aspect of the contract is that Gilgeous-Alexander would earn $81.4 million in 2030-2031, which would make him the first ever NBA player to earn $80 million in a season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is now eligible to sign a super max extension in the 2025 offseason.

He would be the first player to earn $80M+ in one season. pic.twitter.com/E5yHzGse3b

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) May 22, 2024

Gilgeous-Alexander would be eligible to sign his extension next year. The terms of the extension would call for him to earn 35 percent of the projected salary cap from 2027-2031.

Gilgeous-Alexander is already signed through 2026-2027 thanks to the rookie max contract extension he signed in 2021. He is set to earn nearly $115 million over the next three seasons.

The 25-year-old guard finished second in NBA MVP voting this season, a year after finishing 5th. He led his Oklahoma City Thunder to the top seed in the West this season.