Stephen Curry is the highest-paid NBA player for the 2026-27 season, with projected earnings of $122.6 million, according to Sportico. That's a $62.6 million salary from the Golden State Warriors plus about $60 million from endorsements. He replaces LeBron James at No. 1. James is still one of the league's biggest earners off the court but is playing this season on a minimum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The bigger story is how the money is made. At the top of the NBA, the salary is only half the check.
How Stephen Curry earns $122.6 million in 2026-27
Curry's salary is the easy part. At $62,587,158, he's the first NBA player ever paid more than $60 million in a season, and it's his 10th straight year with the league's highest playing salary. He's also playing like he's worth it. He averaged 30 points through the Warriors' first six games at 38.
The endorsement side changed this year. Curry split with Under Armour in November 2025 after 13 years and kept ownership of Curry Brand. In June he signed a 10-year deal with Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning worth more than $400 million, according to ESPN. The deal covers basketball shoes, apparel, a golf line and the right to sign other athletes to Curry Brand.
That's a big bet by Li-Ning. It's paying a 38-year-old for a decade because it isn't really buying his playing career. It's buying a brand that should outlast it, plus a foothold in the U.S. market.
Why LeBron James took a $49 million pay cut to join the 76ers
LeBron finished on top of the NBA's earnings list for 11 straight seasons before Curry first passed him in 2024-25, according to Sportico and Forbes. This year he isn't close on the court.
James made $52.6 million from the Lakers last season. He signed a two-year, $8 million veteran-minimum deal with Philadelphia in July, which pays him about $3.9 million this season. It's his lowest NBA salary ever, below the $4 million he made as a rookie in 2003-04.
He's still fine because he's projected at $85 million in endorsements this season, the most of any NBA player, for a total of $88.9 million. That's why the pay cut was possible. When your off-court income is more than 20 times your salary, you can choose your team based on winning instead of money.
For the 76ers, it's the best value in the league. They got the NBA's all-time leading scorer for the price of a bench player.
The Jaylen Brown and Paul George trade reshaped the top 20
The 20 highest-paid NBA players will earn about $1.47 billion combined this season, with roughly 30% coming from endorsements, according to Sportico. The group barely changed from last year. Jaylen Brown moved in at No. 14 with $65.6 million in total earnings, and James Harden dropped out after taking a pay cut of his own.
Brown's move came through one of the biggest trades of the summer. The Celtics sent him to Philadelphia for Paul George, who projects at $59.1 million in total earnings. Boston moved Brown with three years left on his five-year, $285 million contract, and I read it as a payroll decision as much as a basketball one.
That's the business side of the NBA's new salary rules showing up. Even rich teams are making stars into trade pieces to manage the luxury tax.
Who pays the NBA's highest-paid players?
Teams pay the salaries, and those salaries are tied to league revenue. The NBA's 11-year, $76 billion national TV deal with ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime Video is a big reason max contracts keep climbing. More TV money pushes the salary cap up, and the cap sets what a max deal is worth.
Brands pay the rest. Li-Ning, Nike and the rest of the sponsor list are betting that these players sell shoes, drinks and streaming subscriptions. The NBA's global reach is what makes that bet work. A player who's famous in China and the U.S. is worth more to a brand than one who's only famous at home.
Fans pay for all of it in the end, through tickets, merchandise and TV subscriptions. That's how it's always worked.
How long will Stephen Curry stay the NBA's top earner?
Probably not long on the salary side. Curry signed a two-year extension with the Warriors in September and took less than he could have, so he won't lead the league in salary next season, according to Bleacher Report.
The total earnings crown is different. As long as Curry and LeBron are playing, the off-court money keeps them near the top. I'd bet one of them leads this list until they both retire. After that, the next No. 1 probably belongs to whichever young star lands the biggest global shoe deal, not the biggest contract.
Curry's run says a lot about where player money is going. The salary gets the headline. The brand is what lasts.
