The extension of NBA's TV deal with ESPN and Turner Sports in 2014, worth $2.6 billion per year over a nine-year period starting from 2016, gave a huge boost to the salary cap.
For the 2015-16 season, the salary cap was set at $70 million and that saw a huge leap to $94.1 million for the succeeding 2016-17 season. It wasn't just that year, each of the following seasons also saw a significant boost such that for the upcoming 2021-22 season, the salary cap was set at 112.4 million.
That rise, given the players-league revenue split as per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) at that time, subsequently led to a leap in the player salaries which led to multiple large contracts being handed out since.
That said, here's a look at the players that signed a contract worth upwards of $200 million.
Note: Players like Damian Lillard and James Harden aren't on the list because their contracts exceed $200 million after they signed an extension.
Stephen Curry
Curry, the first and only unanimous MVP in league history, signed the first contract worth more than $200 million.
Coming off a 4-year, $44 million deal - during which he led the Warriors to the NBA Championship in 2015 and won two straight league MVPs, he signed a 5-year worth around $201 million as a free agent to remain with the Golden State Warriors.
That deal took him from the 82nd highest paid in the 2015-16 season to the highest-paid player in the league for every year of that deal. However, the 3-time NBA Champion would make more history when it comes to contracts in the 2021 offseason.
MORE: Highest-paid players for 2021-22 NBA season
Aged 33, he would sign a four-year extension worth $215 million that would keep him on the franchise's books until 2026. This new extension made him the first player ever to sign consecutive deals upwards of $200 million.
Russell Westbrook
Coming off his 2016-17 historic MVP season, where he became the first player to average a triple-double for a season since Oscar Robertson in 1962, even breaking the record for the most number of triple-doubles (42), Westbrook signed a 5-year extension prior to the 2017-18 season - the final year of his three-year, $85.6 million deal.
The new extension worth $206 million would have kept him in Oklahoma City from 2018 to 2023, however in the four seasons since the start of the contract, he is set to play the first four years of that contract with four different franchises - Oklahoma City Thunder (2018-19), Houston Rockets (2019-20), Washington Wizards (2020-21) and now, Los Angeles Lakers (2021-22).
MORE: Is Westbrook the answer for the Lakers?
The final year of this deal, the 2022-23 season, is a player option.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Greek Freak became a free agent in 2020 but the two-time reigning league MVP - at that time - re-signed in Milwaukee for a 5-year deal worth $228.2 million.
Despite the playoff disappointments, at the time of signing the contract, Antetokounmpo still had a stacked resume with his two MVPs, 2017 Most Improved Player award, four All-Star selections, four All-NBA selections including two in the First Team, plus the 2020 Defensive Player Award.
However, in the first year of this new deal, the 26-year-old added more hardware to his trophy cabinet by leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA title and winning the Finals MVP. He also won the All-Star Game MVP award earlier in the season.
With the deal, he became the first international player to sign a deal of more than $200 million.
Rudy Gobert
Not long after Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert joined the $200 million group. The Frenchmen signed a 5-year deal worth $205 million in the 2020 offseason.
The largest deal in NBA history for a center, Gobert was eligible for the large extension because of his two DPOYs (now three) and three All-NBA selections (now four) at the time.
The contract is also the largest for any player outside the lottery as Gobert was picked 27th overall in the 2013 Draft by the Denver Nuggets and then traded to the Utah Jazz.
Luka Doncic
At 22, Luka Doncic is the youngest player ever to sign a deal worth more than $200 million.
He became eligible for this supermax extension, the first player from the 2018 Draft class, courtesy of his two All-NBA First Team selections in the previous two years. The five-year, $207 million extension, which kicks in at the end of the 2021-22 season, reportedly includes a player option for the final year.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, only four players have been named to multiple All-NBA First Team before their 23rd birthday and, the duo of Doncic and Kevin Durant are the only two players to do so since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976.
Trae Young
Similar to Doncic, the Atlanta Hawks superstar point guard also signed a 5-year deal that's worth $207 million.
Atlanta Hawks All-Star G Trae Young has agreed to a five-year, $207 million designated rookie maximum extension, his agent Omar Wilkes of @KlutchSports tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 3, 2021
However, his contract is essentially worth $172.55M but it would take a jump to the max value of $207 million when he does receive an All-NBA selection at any point through his contract.
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