The NBA’s 10 highest-paid players will make $751 million before taxes and agents’ fees this year, per Forbes — a record for the league.

It’s no surprise that LeBron James — the first active athlete to be certified a billionaire by Forbes — sits atop the outlet’s Highest-Paid NBA Players list as the highest-paid NBA player ever, his ninth straight year at No. 1. His pretax earnings will total $124.5 million, with $80 million of that earned off the court. 

James is one of 10 athletes who have surpassed $100 million in pretax earnings in a single year. Some of his off-court endeavors, including the SpringHill company, aren’t included in Forbes’ estimates.

Steph Curry, the second-highest-paid NBA player, will make the most on the court — $48.1 million. Add that to off-court income, and Curry’s earnings will total $95.1 million.

The top five is rounded out by Kevin Durant ($88 million), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($86.5 million), and Russell Westbrook ($82.1 million). Earnings then drop by more than $20 million.

• No. 6: Klay Thompson ($60.6 million)
• No. 7: Damian Lillard ($60.5 million)
• No. 8: James Harden ($53 million)
• No. 9: Paul George ($51 million)
• No. 10: Jimmy Butler ($49.7 million)

Ball Breakdown

Collectively, the highest-paid players are making 5% more than last year and 122% more than a decade ago. The players’ off-court earnings, which is anticipated to total $330 million, is estimated as the highest for any sports league.

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told ESPN “there’s a lot of push” to expand the College Football Playoff in 2024 — two years before the tournament undergoes its first phase of expansion. 

“It’s just the logistics of this thing are difficult,” Phillips told ESPN Wednesday at ACC basketball media day. “Not insurmountable, but time is not a friend of ours right now.”

In September, the College Football Playoff Board of Managers — a group of FBS university presidents — voted to expand the CFP from four to 12 teams. 

• The expansion is set for 2026 after ESPN’s current deal for CFP media rights expires.
• ESPN’s current pact reportedly pays out an average of $470 million per year.
• An expanded playoff could see a rights deal fetch as much as $2.2 billion annually. 

The NCAA men’s Division I basketball tournament may also be expanded to provide more qualified teams with access to college sports’ “crown jewel” of championships. A potential plan for expanding March Madness includes increasing the number of teams from 64 to 96.

Speaking of Expansion

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark expressed interest in expanding the conference westward last month. The conference will be losing Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC in 2025 and is preparing to add four new members: Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, and BYU.

College Athletics

| by Justin Byers

Big 12 May Look West for Expansion

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark expressed interest in expanding the conference westward.

September 11, 2022

UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham and university president Kevin Guskiewicz also discussed the idea of a merger between the ACC and the Pac-12 or Big 12, referring to it in a text message as the Atlantic-Pacific Athletic Conference or APAC.

The Big Ten will add USC and UCLA in 2024.

The finances of the family that owns the Baltimore Orioles could become public as its internal drama is deliberated in court.

Georgia and John Angelos, the wife and elder son of the ailing Peter Angelos, have asked a court to limit the financial information revealed by lawyers about the Orioles and Peter’s law firm. John is the Orioles’ chairman and CEO.

• The two are being sued by John’s younger brother, Louis Angelos, who has alleged that John sought to take control over the Orioles and other family assets.
• Louis subpoenaed documents from Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, including ones related to a potential sale of the family’s stake in the team. 
• He has also sought communications with Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and other league officials. 

Georgia retained Goldman Sachs and Jones Day to provide services related to a potential sale of the team. She has argued that Peter wanted her to have control over whether the team is sold.

The Washington Nationals, which have a profit-sharing arrangement with the Orioles for their shared regional sports network MASN, are also for sale. Forbes valued the Nationals at $2 billion and the Orioles at $1.38 billion in March.

Firm Freeze

Peter Angelos Law, which is best known for asbestos litigation, is also in the middle of the family tug of war. 

An attorney for Louis Angelos said that the firm could have its assets frozen imminently due to the family’s legal struggle, which would prevent it from operating.