Get ready to gasp. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the NBA has secured a groundbreaking media deal with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon worth $76 billion over 11 years. This wild deal, averaging over $6.9 billion annually, marks a 265% increase from the previous agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, ESPN, and ABC, which was $2.6 billion annually.
The shift to new networks, ending nearly four decades with Warner Bros. Discovery, has significant implications. As a result, the iconic show Inside the NBA will end due to existing contracts with Warner Bros. Discovery. That in itself is unfortunate. Inside the NBA is easily one of the most popular sports shows ever and maybe the most entertaining in the history of linear television, certainly one that covers the NBA.
Get this: Comcast (NBC), Disney (ESPN), and Amazon outbid Warner Bros. Discovery, which couldn’t match these conglomerates’ financial power. Details on game distribution and the impact on NBA League Pass or local market games remain unclear.
Players will significantly benefit from this new deal. Under the collective bargaining agreement, players receive 50% of any media deal, which will impact the salary cap starting in the 2025-26 season.
Here are some actual salary cap numbers. The salary cap, set at $141 million for the upcoming season, will rise to $170 million in three years and $206 million two years later. This increase will affect contracts, especially supermax deals. For example, Jaylen Brown’s recent five-year, $304 million deal could be worth $419 million by 2028-29.
Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks predicted that by 2032, supermax contracts might exceed $100 million annually. This would surpass Shohei Ohtani’s $70 million AAV with the Dodgers and Joe Burrow’s $55 million AAV NFL contract. Rising global popularity could push salaries even higher. Victor Wembanyama, whose rookie deal ends in 2026-27, might become the first $100 million-a-year NBA player by 2032-33.
The NBA’s future looks incredibly prosperous, with players on track to become some of the highest-paid athletes in history. Wow, it sounds like a great time to be a sports agent. Hmm …
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