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Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is back in the financial news cycle, not because of another big contract with the Warriors or flashy sponsorship. It is because of the $5.1 million he will not be receiving for his 2024-25 salary due to the NBA's escrow mechanism, as reported by Sportico.
Every season, the league sets aside a portion of player salaries in an escrow fund to maintain the 51-49 split of basketball-related income (BRI) between players and team owners, as detailed in the collective bargaining agreement. Last season, that amount was pegged at 10%, but after all the accounting is done, players are only getting back a tiny fraction of that. Because of this, Curry is about to lose more than $5 million off his huge $55.8 million salary.
This system allows total payouts to adjust due to basketball-related income being lower than expected. This year, for 2024-25, the NBA announced a Basketball Related Income (BRI) of $10.25 billion. Even with that record figure, playoff revenue took a hit, partly because smaller-market teams made deep runs in the postseason and there were issues with local media rights.
Other big earners like Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Kevin Durant also faced significant cuts — ranging from $4.5 to $4.7 million — but none took a bigger hit than Curry, underscoring how much the escrow system can affect the league’s top contracts.
The escrow system has changed since it was first introduced in 1999. During prosperous years, like the mid-2010s, players often received full refunds — and sometimes even extra payouts — when revenues exceeded expectations. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the league temporarily raised withholdings and carried over losses into subsequent seasons.
On the bright side, the long-term outlook seems promising. With the NBA landing new $77 billion broadcast deals, the salary cap is expected to keep rising and players are likely to see full payouts by the 2025-26 season.
Right now, even the league's top earner isn't escaping the impact of revenue sharing. Curry, said to have raked in nearly $100 million off the court, will take on the escrow hit as part of the NBA's financial balancing act.
