NBA Rookie Pay Scale: How Much They Make Depending on Draft Position

How does the rookie pay scale work and just how much does draft position impact it?

Being selected in the NBA draft is a great moment for any basketball player, but the difference between going No. 1 compared to No. 5 means a lot more financially than one might immediately assume.

Depending where players are selected, they will have a different scale to work off when negotiating their contract. The way it works is all first-round picks have a set amount for how much they can make each season, but they are able to negotiate up to 120% of that amount, or end up with as little as 80% of that amount.

So, for No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns, the rookie scale is set at $6,746,400 for his first year, meaning Ayton can make as much $8,095,680 or as little as $5,397,120.

The scale for No. 2 pick Marvin Bagley III and the Kings will start at $6,036,200. For No. 3 pick Luka Doncic, his scale for his first year will start at $5,420,500, while No. 4 pick Jaren Jackson Jr.'s scale starts at $4,887,200 and No. 5 selection Trae Young's scale opens at $4,425,600.

Check out the entire scale for the first-year of each contract for all 30 first-round picks below.

Selection	Scale	120%	80%
No. 1	$6,746,400	$8,095,680	$5,397,120
No. 2	$6,036,200	$7,243,440	$4,828,960
No. 3	$5,420,500	$6,504,600	$4,336,400
No. 4	$4,887,200	$5,864,640	$3,909,760
No. 5	$4,425,600	$5,310,720	$3,540,480
No. 6	$4,019,600	$4,823,520	$3,215,680
No. 7	$3,669,400	$4,403,280	$2,935,520
No. 8	$3,361,500	$4,033,800	$2,689,200
No. 9	$3,090,100	$3,708,120	$2,472,080
No. 10	$2,935,400	$3,522,480	$2,348,320
No. 11	$2,788,800	$3,346,560	$2,231,040
No. 12	$2,649,400	$3,179,280	$2,119,520
No. 13	$2,516,900	$3,020,280	$2,013,520
No. 14	$2,391,100	$2,869,320	$1,912,880
No. 15	$2,271,400	$2,725,680	$1,817,120
No. 16	$2,157,900	$2,589,480	$1,726,320
No. 17	$2,050,000	$2,460,000	$1,640,000
No. 18	$1,947,500	$2,337,000	$1,558,000
No. 19	$1,859,800	$2,231,760	$1,487,840
No. 20	$1,785,300	$2,142,360	$1,428,240
No. 21	$1,713,900	$2,056,680	$1,371,120
No. 22	$1,645,400	$1,974,480	$1,316,320
No. 23	$1,579,600	$1,895,520	$1,263,680
No. 24	$1,516,500	$1,819,800	$1,213,200
No. 25	$1,455,700	$1,746,840	$1,164,560
No. 26	$1,407,500	$1,689,000	$1,126,000
No. 27	$1,367,000	$1,640,400	$1,093,600
No. 28	$1,358,500	$1,630,200	$1,086,800
No. 29	$1,348,600	$1,618,320	$1,078,880
No. 30	$1,338,900	$1,606,680	$1,071,120

You can find out more about potential pay for rookie contracts here.