ESPN Analyst: Luka Doncic to Be ‘First $80 Million Per Year NBA Player’

If you’re the best, you'll be paid like the best, and for Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, his next contract could have the highest yearly salary in NBA history.

When you're one of the best players in your sport, you get paid like it. Though, there isn't a ton of parity when you look across different sports.

For instance, in the NBA, a role player can make upward of $20 million per year, while in the NFL, players at the top of their position might never sniff that amount. And agains, that's just for a role player.

For a player like Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, who currently makes just over $40 million per year, that's just scratching the surface on what he could potentially make as his career continues.

On Wednesday’s episode of The Lowe Post, ESPN’s Bobby Marks discussed the upcoming players who will be super max eligible, including Doncic. 

“It certainly starts with Luka, who can sign [his extension] in 2025,” Marks said. 

Doncic is one of several All-Stars who will be eligible for the monstrous extension if they meet the criteria of being named All-NBA and having enough years of service in the league.

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“Luka and (Shai) Gilgeous-Alexander will meet the criteria but they’ll only have six years of service. You have to have seven years of service,” Marks said. “But, they’ll still be eligible the following year because they’ve hit it two out of three years.”

As for the number on that contract, Marks said Doncic will ‘probably’ be the first player in the NBA to reach a milestone yearly dollar amount. 

“Who knows where these numbers could be,” Marks said. “Luka’s going to probably be the first $80 million dollar guy.”

You heard that right … $80 million dollars per year. 

And if Doncic continues to get better, which sounds insane, but is plausible given that he’s just 24 years old … and if he can lift the Mavericks to title contention, that might just end up being an underpay. 

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