The NBL is broadly considered one of many strongest home basketball competitions on this planet and one of many fastest-growing skilled sports activities leagues in Australia.
And because the competitors’s stature and credibility has grown lately so too have the salaries of its gamers, albeit with ongoing challenges in relation to luring and retaining expertise in a crowded international and home sporting panorama.
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Foxsports.com.au spoke with former NBL participant and now-commentator Felix Von Hofe to look at the Australian league’s wage buildings compared to the AFL, NRL and BBL, in addition to the NBA and different abroad leagues.
There have been “outstanding strides”, says Von Hofe — who remarkably as soon as performed within the league without cost — with the NBL properly positioned to beat some rising new challenges in relation to staying financially aggressive.
INSIDE THE NBL PAY STRUCTURE
{Most professional} sporting leagues function inside related frameworks in relation to participant remuneration. Contracts sometimes fall into three tiers: entry-level or rookie offers, common contracts, and top-end salaries reserved for elite gamers.
Within the NBL, every workforce should carry 11 totally contracted gamers. For the 2025-26 season, the league’s wage cap has elevated to $2,025,569 AUD per membership.
That cap is ruled by a number of inside mechanisms designed to advertise aggressive steadiness. One key regulation dictates that the mixed salaries of a workforce’s 5 lowest-paid gamers can not exceed 40 per cent of the full cap.
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In sensible phrases, these 5 gamers should collectively earn not more than $729,212 AUD, equating to a median of roughly $131,059 AUD per participant.
On the decrease finish of the dimensions, rookie gamers on minimal contracts earn roughly $80,000 AUD per season, whereas improvement gamers earn roughly $22,500 AUD.
Von Hofe skilled that system firsthand after returning to Australia following his school profession at Jap Washington College. He completed because the winningest participant in this system’s NCAA Division I historical past, set the college file for video games performed, and broke the single-game file for three-pointers within the closing recreation of his collegiate profession. Regardless of that resume, he entered the NBL on a improvement contract with Melbourne United, highlighting the stark distinction between the league’s star salaries and its entry-level realities.
Reflecting on the pay – or lack thereof – throughout his early skilled 12 months, Von Hofe highlighted how dramatically circumstances have modified.
“Once I was a improvement participant, I acquired paid $0. I acquired $0, the place there have been different improvement gamers within the league that might have been on $30,000,” Von Hofe stated.
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“Once I look again on my time, I take into consideration how far the NBL has come; $30,000 was the minimal again then, and now it’s round $80-something thousand for a minimal deal.”
It’s within the center tier the place the NBL nonetheless faces challenges. Depth gamers and strong starters are sometimes not remunerated on the similar stage they may command in different robust worldwide leagues, highlighting an ongoing hole within the league’s pay construction.
On the prime finish, nevertheless, NBL26 is believed to function 4 gamers incomes in extra of $1 million AUD, underscoring the league’s rising monetary muscle. That group consists of Bryce Cotton, Xavier Cooks, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr and Jack McVeigh, with Parker Jackson-Cartwright more likely to be part of them within the following season.
A marquee system permits NBL groups to construct stronger rosters by paying elite gamers properly above the wage cap, whereas solely a set portion of that contract counts towards the cap.
Beneath the present construction, a workforce’s first marquee participant carries a cap hit of $250,056.15. A second marquee counts $333,409.66, a 3rd $416,761.71, and a fourth $500,113.77.
To qualify as a marquee, the participant have to be Australian or New Zealand-eligible. For instance, now that Cotton holds Australian citizenship and is assessed as an area, a hypothetical $1 million AUD contract would rely simply $250,056.15 towards the cap.
A workforce is permitted to hold not more than 4 mixed marquee gamers and imports. Utilizing the Adelaide 36ers for instance, Cotton would occupy a marquee spot, alongside imports Zylan Cheatham, Nick Rakocevic, and newly signed John Jenkins.
Taken collectively, these figures paint the image of a league able to providing significant monetary incentives inside an English-speaking nation, inside a well-run competitors that has established a confirmed repute as a pathway to the NBA.
HOW THE NBL STACKS UP AT HOME
The AFL and NRL stay the nation’s two dominant competitions, pushed by scale, broadcast attain and a long time of entrenched industrial energy. Probably the most important structural variations, nevertheless, lies in roster measurement and the way wage caps are distributed throughout these squads.
The AFL operates beneath a wage cap of roughly $17.7 million AUD, unfold throughout squads of as much as 44 gamers, together with rookies. The NRL permits as much as 36 contracted gamers, with the highest 30 required to suit beneath a cap of $11.95 million AUD.
On the particular person stage, minimal rookie contracts within the AFL sit at round $100,000 AUD per season, whereas NRL rookies sometimes earn between $70,000 and $120,000 AUD relying on squad standing.
On the prime finish of the market, the AFL’s highest-paid participant final season earned roughly $1.45 million AUD, whereas the NRL’s main wage sat round $1.4 million AUD. Throughout the league, roughly 25 AFL gamers earn $1 million or extra per season, in comparison with an estimated 15 to twenty gamers within the NRL.
The place the AFL – and even the NRL – clearly maintain a bonus over the NBL is in common salaries. Whereas elite NBL gamers at the moment are incomes comparable cash, the league’s center tier continues to lag behind.
“If you look and examine the bottom-end contracts and what they’re value in these leagues to the NBL, it’s fairly shut,” Von Hofe stated.
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“However within the AFL, you’ve acquired lots of mid-level guys incomes $600,000 to $700,000, whereas within the NBL there are guys incomes loads lower than that in that center tier.”
“The difficulty then turns into that these mid-level guys within the NBL can go over to Japan and earn far more cash and go away. That creates an enormous lack of depth for the league to nations keen to overpay them.”
Throughout the NBL, gamers on mid-level offers sit properly beneath their counterparts in Australia’s main codes. A robust instance is Dejan Vasiljevic, who’s estimated to be incomes roughly $350,000 to $450,000 this season with the 36ers. Even on the subsequent tier, established stars akin to Chris Goulding are estimated to be within the $400,000 to $500,000 vary.
Seen side-by-side, nevertheless, the wage hole between the NBL and Australia’s main codes is narrower than many would possibly count on. Prime-end NBL salaries now align carefully with elite AFL and NRL earnings, whereas rookie offers are solely marginally decrease.
Nonetheless, the AFL and NRL retain important benefits via free-to-air publicity, industrial attain and long-established fan bases. Extra importantly, they’ve been mature companies for many years, producing constant income streams and long-term monetary safety for gamers.
For a lot of the 2000s and 2010s, the AFL and NRL have been the default pathways for elite multi-sport athletes, largely because of the monetary certainty and status connected to these leagues.
Luke Jackson affords a compelling instance. Earlier than his AFL profession, Jackson was an elite junior basketball prospect, representing Australia within the Beneath-16 FIBA Asia Championships – the place the workforce gained gold – and the Beneath-17 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
He was named to the Beneath-16 Asia Championships All-Event Group, with the AIS eager to develop him towards school and potential NBA or NBL alternatives.
Jackson in the end selected the AFL, occurring to construct a profitable profession with Melbourne and Fremantle. But a few of his junior basketball teammates adopted a unique path, together with Luke Travers, now within the NBA and G League system, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, and Tamuri Wigness.
“If Luke Jackson had been provided 1,000,000 US {dollars} per 12 months to play in America, there’s little doubt in my thoughts that he would have chosen basketball over the AFL,” Von Hofe stated.
“The monetary incentive would have made the basketball pathway much more interesting.”
That raises a broader query because the NBL continues to develop: might growing salaries carry fringe Australian NBA gamers again dwelling, nearer to household and into secure, high-level roles?
“Cash’s cash, however in the event you’re over there and never getting a lot alternative, there comes a degree the place that ends,” Von Hofe stated.
“The NBL has the benefit that if gamers like Luke Travers select to return, they will earn important cash whereas being at dwelling in a cushty setting. That’s a large draw in comparison with the uncertainty of the NBA or being an import in different leagues.”
A extra pure home comparability for the NBL is cricket’s Huge Bash League. As a world T20 competitors nonetheless carving out its long-term identification, the BBL operates beneath a tiered contract system: platinum, gold, silver and bronze.
Platinum contracts can attain as much as $420,000 AUD, gold as much as $300,000, silver $200,000 and bronze $100,000. Groups are additionally required to retain a minimal variety of gamers incomes $200,000 or extra.
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When stacked towards the BBL, the NBL typically sits barely larger on the prime finish, whereas providing comparable depth throughout the center of its roster – reinforcing its place as a rising, however nonetheless evolving, skilled sports activities league within the Australian market.
HOW PRIVATE OWNERSHIP SHAPES THE NBL
Probably the most important elements separating the NBL from different main sporting codes in Australia is its possession mannequin. Within the NBL, each membership besides the Cairns Taipans is owned and operated by non-public people, funding teams or consortiums. The Taipans, in contrast, function beneath a community-owned, not-for-profit construction ruled by an integrated board.
This non-public possession mannequin gives the NBL with a novel aggressive benefit. In contrast to member-owned golf equipment, non-public house owners have larger discretion in how aggressively they select to spend. Whereas some golf equipment function conservatively, aiming to remain near profitability, others are keen to soak up short-term losses in pursuit of on-court success and championships.
The Adelaide 36ers in NBL26 supply a transparent instance of this method, with the membership committing important assets in a bid to contend – a technique that excites Von Hofe.
“You take a look at Grant Kelley at Adelaide, for instance. They may sit there and take extra revenue throughout the board as a workforce proprietor, or they may spend the cash they’re spending to win video games,” Von Hofe stated.
“Grant Kelley and Adelaide are a first-rate instance of an proprietor deciding to open the chequebook to usher in prime expertise and compete at a better stage.
“Paying guys like Bryce Cotton that form of large cash exhibits they’re selecting to put money into success on the courtroom, even when it means sacrificing potential revenue.”
When evaluating this possession construction to the AFL and NRL, each contrasts and similarities emerge. AFL golf equipment function fully beneath a member-owned, not-for-profit mannequin, just like that of the Cairns Taipans. On this system, followers personal the membership, and any income are reinvested again into soccer operations somewhat than distributed to people or shareholders.
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The NRL sits someplace in between, working throughout three possession fashions: member-owned, privately owned and transitional possession. Transitional possession sometimes happens when the league briefly owns a membership throughout growth, offering monetary and operational assist till the workforce is established and sustainable.
In Australia, nevertheless, sports activities possession exists on a far finer margin than in markets akin to the USA. The steadiness between investing to compete, turning a revenue and easily remaining viable is much extra delicate.
“The margins in sports activities possession in Australia are very, very skinny. You need to spend cash to win,” Von Hofe stated.
“Typically folks get misplaced on this thought of, ‘Why aren’t they spending extra?’
“This isn’t like US sport, the place groups are making $100 million a 12 months and the fairness worth is gigantic. That simply doesn’t exist right here.”
In that context, non-public possession has allowed the NBL to shut the monetary hole extra quickly than would possibly in any other case be potential – giving formidable house owners the liberty to take a position closely in expertise, elevate the league’s profile and speed up its development in methods conventional fashions typically can not.
HOW THE NBL STACKS UP GLOBALLY
Whereas the NBL has established itself as a premier improvement league, its monetary place turns into tougher when seen towards the world’s main basketball competitions.
Japan’s B1 League has emerged as a serious rival, more and more attracting Australian gamers and former NBL imports. Salaries in Japan are sometimes structured throughout minimal, common and star-level contracts.
Minimal salaries vary from roughly $24,000 to $35,000 AUD, whereas common gamers earn between $80,000 and $150,000 AUD. Decrease-tier imports can earn as much as $380,000 AUD internet, whereas high-level imports can get $2.2 million internet – or extra.
Wanting forward, the 2026-27 season will see Japan introduce the B.League Premier, a brand new top-tier competitors designed to enhance aggressive steadiness via the elimination of relegation and the introduction of a wage cap.
This improvement is predicted to position the NBL and Japan on a extra stage footing when competing for import expertise, with salaries more and more sitting in related brackets. Consequently, gamers will face a transparent alternative: pursue probably larger earnings in Japan, or play within the NBL inside an English-speaking setting whereas remaining carefully linked to the NBA pathway.
“Out of each leagues, it’s identified amongst brokers and gamers that the NBL is the pathway to the NBA over Japan,” Von Hofe stated.
“You may go over to Japan and make your cash, however you’re almost certainly not going to make the NBA out of your performances there as a result of they don’t have the identical relationship with NBA scouts or the legitimacy the NBL has.”
“The NBL has produced so many NBA gamers which you can take a look at NBL numbers and have a real understanding of how that interprets to the NBA.”
Regardless of the rising monetary competitors, Von Hofe doesn’t view Japan’s spending energy as a menace.
“If a complete crop of imports decides to go to Japan, there are nonetheless going to be so many gamers left who can come to the NBL and be superstars,” he stated.
Past Japan, international basketball’s monetary hierarchy is dominated by school basketball, the EuroLeague and the NBA.
With the introduction of NIL (Title, Picture and Likeness) offers, school basketball has turn into an more and more profitable choice for elite younger gamers worldwide. Excessive-level prospects can now earn important cash whereas pursuing NBA alternatives – or just securing monetary stability over a four-year school profession.
For instance, the projected number-one choose within the 2025 NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg, carried an estimated NIL valuation of roughly $7.25 million AUD. Whereas NIL valuations usually are not direct salaries, they signify a participant’s estimated incomes potential throughout endorsements, social media, efficiency incentives and media publicity.
That monetary actuality has direct implications for the NBL. Roman Siulepa is one such instance, with the 19-year-old choosing school basketball over different sporting pathways.
“He (Siulepa) is incomes a considerable quantity within the US school system,” Von Hofe stated.
“When younger athletes see their friends making good cash, they’re much less more likely to change sports activities, whether or not that’s AFL, NRL or elsewhere, as a result of basketball is now a viable and worthwhile profession path.
“In any other case, we most likely lose him to rugby, the NRL or one thing related, as a result of proper now the NBL can’t compete with these sorts of salaries for first-, second- or third-year gamers.”
In Europe, the EuroLeague represents one other monetary step above the NBL. Minimal salaries sometimes sit between $160,000 and $240,000 AUD, with common contracts starting from $750,000 to $1.2 million AUD. On the prime finish, elite stars can earn between $4 million and $8 million AUD per season.
The NBA, nevertheless, operates on a completely totally different monetary airplane. Rookie minimal salaries start at roughly $1.9 million AUD and rise past $5.4 million AUD for veteran gamers. On the highest stage, elite superstars earn greater than $80 million AUD per season.
That hole stays the monetary mountain the NBL continues to chase – however it is just a part of the story.
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THE BIG PICTURE
The NBL is a powerful, financially secure competitors with a clearly outlined improvement pathway and rising worldwide credibility. Whereas its headline wage figures don’t but rival Europe’s elite leagues or the NBA, the league’s true worth lies in alternative, publicity and development.
Measured towards Australia’s main sporting codes, the NBL now holds its personal – significantly on the prime finish of the wage spectrum. Extra importantly, it affords one thing few home leagues can match: a legit bridge to the NBA and the life-changing monetary upside that pathway can present.
“I firmly imagine a overwhelming majority of Australians could be genuinely shocked by how aggressive the salaries on the higher echelon of the NBL are in comparison with the AFL and NRL,” Von Hofe stated.
“I believe 99.9 per cent of individuals on this nation who observe the most important sports activities codes, however perhaps don’t observe the NBL as carefully, could be shocked to know what Bryce Cotton is incomes.
“And I believe that’s the place non-public possession in sport continues to be slightly overseas to the Australian market.”
With robust grassroots participation, growing international respect and a confirmed monitor file of manufacturing NBA-level expertise, the NBL’s monetary ceiling – and its affect on Australian basketball – continues to rise.