NBA Draft 2020: Projected Contracts For Edwards, Wiseman, LaMelo And Other First-Round Picks
Anthony Edwards is the first No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick from the University of Georgia and only the school's second first-round selection in the past decade after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in 2013.
GETTY IMAGESThe NBA’s first virtual draft went off without a hitch Wednesday night, with Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), James Wiseman (Golden State Warriors) and LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Bobcats) the first three players off the board. Ball and his brother, 2017 draftee Lonzo, made history as the first pair of brothers to be top-five selections.
Each team’s draft selection was an unknown until Adam Silver stepped to the lectern, but the contracts for first-rounders are already locked in for the most part. Edwards is in line for a four-year deal worth $43.3 million, with only the first two years guaranteed, at an average of $10 million a year. For comparison, quarterback Joe Burrow signed a four-year deal with $36.2 million guaranteed as the NFL’s No. 1 overall pick in 2020.
The NBA rookie scale for first-round picks was born 25 years ago after a series of draft holdouts and escalating rookie contracts that peaked with Glenn Robinson signing a ten-year, $68 million contract as the No. 1 pick in 1994 after holding out—it remains the richest deal ever for a rookie. The rookie salary cap was instituted the following year after a ten-week “lockout” of players that did not result in any games being lost.
The rookie contract scale does offer some flexibility: Teams can pay as little as 80% of the scale, but teams almost always pay 120% of the total, the maximum allowed per the collective bargaining agreement.
The NBA and its union negotiated a flat salary cap of $109.1 million for the 2020-21 season, following a 10% drop in league-wide revenue, to $8.3 billion, because of canceled and fan-less games, as well as the league’s standoff with China. The flat cap means a rookie salary scale that is identical to that of the 2019-20 season.
Teams are facing another season of revenue shortfalls, with limited fans expected at games over the next six months, but multiple NBA insiders say they don’t expect teams to pinch pennies by squeezing top draft picks to accept reduced salaries. First-round picks are expected to get the maximum 20% salary above their draft slot, so Edwards’ deal should match the contract of 2019 No. 1 pick Zion Williamson.
One expected change this year with rookie deals is an increase in the number of two-way contracts for second-round picks. These deals, which are available only for players with three or fewer years of experience, pay a prorated salary based on how much time the player is on an active roster. They do not count toward the salary cap, a bonus with most teams already at or over the cap threshold.
The 2020 NBA draft was originally slated to be held in June at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the seventh straight year but instead took place virtually on at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. The contract projections below are based on 20% above the rookie scale for the respective draft slot.
2020 NBA Draft First-Round Rookie Salary Projections