Stephen Curry joins LeBron James, Kevin Durant in $500-million NBA club. Who’s next?
Stephen Curry signed a one-year, $62.6-million extension Thursday, keeping him with the Golden State Warriors through the 2026-2027 season and elevating his career salaries to more than $500 million.
Curry, 36, would accompany LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only NBA players to have been paid a half a billion dollars in salary. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Curry has earned $347,844,681 in 15 seasons and is now set to be guaranteed an additional $178 million over the next three seasons for a total of approximately $526 million.
As for the fourth active player who will crack the $500-million barrier by playing the next four years under a contract he signed this summer? That will be ex-Clipper Paul George.
Underscoring the continuous escalating NBA salaries, only two retired players have exceeded even $300 million in salaries: Kevin Garnett ($343,872,398) and Kobe Bryant ($328,238,062).
Salaries is the key word because James, Durant and Curry will have exceeded $1 billion when endorsements are included in their overall earnings. Michael Jordan, who was paid “only” $94,022,500 in salary, has made more money than any other athlete at $2.7 billion — thanks for the most part to Nike.
Magic Johnson becomes the fourth athlete to be worth $1 billion, joining Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and LeBron James. He says Kobe Bryant would’ve been the fifth billionaire.
Neither James nor Durant has reached $500 million in salaries yet, but both are under contracts that guarantee they will cross the threshold unless they retire first.
James, 39, has made $482,593,928 in 21 seasons, and in July, he agreed to a two-year, $104-million extension with the Lakers. Durant, 35, has made $399,155,146 in 17 seasons and is guaranteed $51.2 million in 2024-2025 and $54.7 million in 2025-2026 with the Phoenix Suns.
The numbers are enough to make the eyes of an average working stiff glaze over. In Curry’s case, the time seemed ripe for him to add a third year to his current deal, the maximum allowed under the NBA’s over-38 rule, which prevents teams from offering contracts of four years or more to players who will turn 38 during that deal.
(The purpose of the over-38 rule is to prevent teams from circumventing the salary cap by offering a contract that extends beyond when the player is expected to retire.)
Fresh in everyone’s mind is Curry’s clutch play in the U.S. winning gold at the Paris Olympics. Last season, he averaged 26.4 points and 5.1 assists per game while leading the NBA in clutch scoring. He was an All-Star for the 10th time, has won two MVP awards and helped Golden State win four NBA championships.
LeBron James directed the offense and Stephen Curry delivered late three pointers to seal the U.S. win over France to clinch an Olympic gold medal.
Curry has been vocal about his desire to retire having played only with Golden State.
“I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life,” he told Andscape in July. “At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible.”
Six players besides James, Durant and Curry have exceeded $300 million in career salary earnings — and four have played for the Clippers.
Chris Paul, 39, is third behind James and Durant at $390,507,923, but it doesn’t appear he will approach $500 million after he signed a one-year, $10.46-million deal with the San Antonio Spurs for the 2024-2025 season.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer says he hated losing Paul George, but added that the contract they offered him “wasn’t what Paul wanted.”
The same is true for Russell Westbrook, 35, who has made $342,603,650 but signed a two-year, $6,772,731 contract with the Denver Nuggets. James Harden is next at $340,677,097, although he’ll surpass Westbrook and exceed $400 million after signing a two-year, $70-million deal with the Clippers.
George, 34, is the youngest in the $300-million club at $307,684,213. In July, he signed a four-year, $211,584,940 contract with the Philadelphia 76ers that will lift his career salary earnings beyond half a billion.
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