Assessing The NBA D-League Salary Structure
How much does a D-League player earn? A lot of factors go into that decision.
The NBA Development League has a three-tiered salary system for simplicity of making deals with players. The “A” salary is $25,000, “B” salaries are $19,000 while “C” salaries are $13,000 according to multiple league sources and agents who spoke to D-League Digest.
A team is required to remain under the salary cap the D-League sets each year, with a team not allowed to have more than five “A” contracts on their roster at one time. The salary designation the D-League sets is roughly around $170,000.
To navigate the salaries and the cap, the rule of thumb according to a league source is as follows:
“A” contracts: 2
“B” contracts: 3
“C” contracts: 5
Adhering to that guideline will assure a team they are just under the salary cap.
Teams decide how much they want to pay a player based on one of those tiers. But that amount is not guaranteed for the season once it’s set.
“If a player is designated an “A” contract but the team wants to bring on an additional “B” player, they might ask the “A” player to reduce their salary to a “B” level to compensate for the difference,” according to a league source.
“It’s a balancing act,” the source continued. “You can have four “A” contracts at one point in the season, but that team will need to correct that amount of salary at some point with more “C” contracts so they don’t go over the salary cap.”
A team cannot change a player’s salary without their consent, and any reduction in a player’s salary is only allowed if a team makes a roster move multiple league sources tell D-League Digest.
“If a team wants to increase a player’s salary, no roster move is required,” a source clarified.
If a team does happen to go over the salary cap, they are on the hook for the difference according to multiple sources.
NBA parent clubs often sign players to training camp deals in order to offset the low salaries of the D-League and to protect their player rights by waiving and assigning them via the affiliate rule. Some teams, however, will offer a training camp player a “C” level contract on the notion that player made a decent amount of money with their training camp deal.
When it comes to players who return mid or late season, often times teams will offer them the “C” level salary seeing as a majority of them have already made their money overseas and are looking at an opportunity to further develop their careers with a D-League team. Those late additions are also looking to improve their stock towards a summer league invite.
While player contracts are with the D-League (who ultimately pay the salary), the teams are responsible for housing and a player’s per diem $40 on road trips (only paid to active players on the roster).
D-League salaries are a very nuanced and fluid process that are constantly shifting, altering and adjusting for a team’s needs. It’s a challenge for teams to make sure they place a successful team on the floor while managing player salaries as everyone jockeys for the almighty dollar.
