During the 2010-2011 season, there were 24 players in Euroleague making over 1 million Euros, with the highest paid player making 3.5 million Euros. Notable players on this list including former NBA players Bostjan Nachbar and Allen Iverson, as well as Spanish standout Juan Carlos Navarro.
During the 2012-2013 Euroleague season, there were over 40 players making over 1.15 million Euros. Notable players on this list included former US college standout Nick Calathes, and former NBA players Jordan Farmer, Rudy Fernandez and Nedad Kristic.
While the overall salary increases in the past couple of years haven't brought tons of NBA talent to Europe, there is an increasing trend of NBA players spending one year in Europe and going back to the NBA. The 2011 NBA lockout year helped solidify this trend, as 90 NBA players went to Europe during the lockout. The vast majority of these players returned to America with the lockout was over, because Euroleague teams simply could not pay them their market value in salary. However, the Euroleague is increasingly becoming a solid option for fringe level NBA players who can now leverage their bargaining rights in the NBA with competitive Euroleague contract offers.
When taking a look at NBA salaries for the 2012-2013 season, there were 278 players making over 2 million USD, with dozens of players making over 10 million USD. In the near future Euroleague teams will have no chance at signing top NBA talent, but are increasingly entering the market for basketball players seeking low 7 figure contracts. During the 2012-2013, four teams had budgets over 30 million Euros, while the bottom eight teams had budgets under 10 million Euros. If team payrolls in Euroleague were able to all reach the level of CSKA Moscow 42 million Euros, I bet you would see a lot of top notch American players flock to Euroleague
The reason I decided to focus on salary in this post is because I believe having higher payrolls is the quickest and more surefire way for the Euroleague to generate more interest in the world basketball community. The bottom line is more money to spend equal better players and better players equals more fan interest. It will be interesting to see how the salaries and payrolls of Euroleague teams stack up to their NBA counterparts in 10 years.
Lucas Cohen
-5 time All-Pro Sports Blogger
What type of salaries are Euroleague teams going to need to pay to be able to compete with NBA teams? Will Euroleague teams ever compete with NBA teams?
ReplyDeleteI think that having had former NBA players go to the Euroleague for a year or even more goes to show that it is possible for the Euroleague to compete with the NBA for players. Obviously, the Euroleague needs to have bigger budgets for their players in order to really compete with the NBA. I think that the Euroleague needs to be offering more salaries in the million euro mark and should be willing to spend up to 7 million euro on players to be more comparable to the NBA.
ReplyDeleteEven with Euroleague contracts in the low 7 figures, I still don't think they will attract even mid-level NBA talent. Unless these players would make substantially more in Europe, I don't think that many players would be willing to move to Europe to play in an inferior league, especially if they were older and/or had families.
ReplyDeleteI agree that lucrative contracts are definitely a good way to lure bigger name NBA players, but I think the current disparity in talent between the two leagues provides a barrier that money cannot overcome. I think it is conceivable that players would take a relatively lower salary to remain in the NBA because of the more competitive nature (as well as the notoriety and desire to remain in the domestic league). However, as was pointed out, the general upward trend in Euroleague salaries is definitely a positive sign. The continued increase in contract figures will inevitably attract higher quality players, who could then act as further points for recruiting their current/former teammates/friends in the NBA.
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