How Much Will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Actually Take Home From His $285M Thunder Extension?

The money NBA players make is no joke. The average player receives a salary of $10 million. That doesn’t even take into consideration the amount top stars are earning. In July, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed a massive four-year $285 million extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder. But how much of that will he actually take home?

Despite what some fans may think, a player never receives the base number on their contract. Some don’t have a guaranteed contract at all, so they need to hit incentives to earn the full amount listed on their deal. Of course, SGA doesn’t have to worry about that.

Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum currently owns the largest contract in NBA history at five years, $315 million. That extra year boosted him above Shai, whose contract doesn’t even kick in until the 2027-28 season. Once SGA’s becomes active, though, the new extension will leapfrog him to the top of the highest annual pay category.

Shai’s new deal will see him bring in $71.25 million per year. It would be glorious if all of that money went straight to his pockets, but just like any other person, that figure is subject to various fees, including but not limited to federal tax, state tax, jock tax, CBA escrow and Medicaid.

Federal income tax is imposed by the United States government on all its citizens. Since NBA players receive significantly more money than the rest of the population, they are in a different bracket than the average Joe. In other words, the government taxes them more heavily. In SGA’s case, federal taxes will equate to roughly $26.4 million of that $71.25 million.

Next up is the state income tax. Some states, like Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming, don’t require this tax. But SGA makes his living in Oklahoma, so he’ll be giving $3.4 million to the state annually.

Believe it or not, players don’t just pay tax for the state their team plays in but for every state they play in. This comes under the umbrella of the jock tax. California road trips are the least desirable, considering California has the fourth-highest state tax at 11%. That’s another $2 million out of Shai’s pocket.

Part of the NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement is an element known as escrow. This takes roughly 10% of a player’s contract. This is to assure that owners and athletes receive an even 50/50 split of the league’s total revenue. The good news is that in four years’ time, players receive most, if not all, of that money back.

Luckily for Shai, he doesn’t have to worry about agent fees, since he represents himself. However, he does have to worry about Medicaid pay-in, which comes to $5.4 million.

Just like that, the lucrative $71.25 million that Shai seems to earn annually dwindles down to $24.7 million in his pocket.

It makes sense why players strive to earn as much as they can on these contracts, since, at the end of the day, that final number is a facade. In Gilgeous-Alexander’s case, he has more than enough brand deals to make up for the money he’s losing to all these fees.