It can pay handsomely to be a professional athlete, and these days the biggest contracts are going to basketball and baseball players.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander agreed to a four-year, $285 million contract extension on Tuesday, making him the highest-paid player in the league with an average salary of $71.3 million per season when the deal kicks in the 2027-28 season.
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By comparison, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is making $60 million per season, Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl is making an average of $14 million as the National Hockey League’s highest paid player, and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani makes $70 million a season, but $680 million of that total is being deferred, and scheduled to paid out starting in 2034.
Here are the biggest contracts in NBA history, in terms of value and annual salary:
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Highest-paid NBA players, by total contract value
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers: five years, $244 million
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Highest-paid NBA players by annual average salary
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics: $62.8 million
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics: $57 million
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Richest contracts in North American sports history
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: 10 years, $450 million
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers: 12 years, $365 million
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Biggest NBA contracts in history: Where SGA’s supermax deal ranks