With each player taking home a handsome 8.32 million U.S. dollars every year, the NBA is the professional sports league with the highest player wages worldwide. In second place is the Indian Premier League, an annual cricket competition contested each year between eight franchises representing eight different Indian cities.
Big money in the NBA
Although the wages that players in the NBA take home are astronomical, the average annual salaries vary from one team to another. Whilst the New York Knicks pay their players an average of 7.08 million U.S. dollars a year, Portland Trail Blazers spent around 10.04 million U.S. dollars annually on each of their stars in 2019/20. NBA salaries have tremendously increased throughout the years reaching 8.32 million U.S. dollars in 2019/20 compared to 4.6 million U.S. dollars in 2015/16.
Average annual player salary in the sports industry in 2019/20, by league
(in million U.S. dollars)
Characteristic
Average player salary in million U.S. dollars
NBA
8.32
IPL
5.3
MLB
4.03
EPL
3.97
NFL
3.26
La Liga
2.55
NHL
2.69
Serie A
2.23
Bundesliga
1.98
Ligue 1
1.3
CSL
1.21
NPB
0.88
MLS
0.41
Created with Highcharts 7.2.2Average player salary in million U.S. dollars8.328.325.35.34.034.033.973.973.263.262.552.552.692.692.232.231.981.981.31.31.211.210.880.880.410.410.330.330.250.250.250.250.090.09NBAIPLMLBEPLNFLLa LigaNHLSerie ABundesligaLigue 1CSLNPBMLSJ-LeagueAFLSPFLCFL
00.511.522.533.544.555.566.577.588.599.5
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Sporting Intelligence, & Livemint. (February 14, 2023). Average annual player salary in the sports industry in 2019/20, by league (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved April 03, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/675120/average-sports-salaries-by-league/
Sporting Intelligence, und Livemint. "Average annual player salary in the sports industry in 2019/20, by league (in million U.S. dollars)." Chart. February 14, 2023. Statista. Accessed April 03, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/675120/average-sports-salaries-by-league/
Sporting Intelligence, Livemint. (2023). Average annual player salary in the sports industry in 2019/20, by league (in million U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: April 03, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/675120/average-sports-salaries-by-league/
Sporting Intelligence, and Livemint. "Average Annual Player Salary in The Sports Industry in 2019/20, by League (in Million U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 14 Feb 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/675120/average-sports-salaries-by-league/
Sporting Intelligence & Livemint, Average annual player salary in the sports industry in 2019/20, by league (in million U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/675120/average-sports-salaries-by-league/ (last visited April 03, 2025)
Average annual player salary in the sports industry in 2019/20, by league (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph], Sporting Intelligence, & Livemint, February 14, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/675120/average-sports-salaries-by-league/
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