Do NBA Players Earn From Their Jerseys?

We see a lot of fans wearing NBA jerseys in each game. Players must be raking in the cash from them, right?

But do they really earn from their jersey sales?

According to sources online, NBA players get around 45% cut from their jersey sales. There aren’t exact figures, but the best-selling jerseys are from LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.

In this post, we also talk about the most popular teams by merchandise sales. Let’s check it out.  

Do NBA Players Earn from Their Jerseys?

Fans can’t help but be curious about their favorite NBA stars. One of the things you might be curious about is how much players make from their jerseys.

The truth is, NBA players receive around 45% of cut from their jersey sales. But it’s all part of their Basketball Related Income. This means that their cut from jersey sales is already included in their salary.

As for the exact figures, we can’t say for sure since player contracts are strictly confidential.

But we can assume that the best-selling jerseys make players at least some millions. Ultimately, the more popular a player is, the more money he makes.

Best-Selling NBA Jerseys and Team Merchandise

To give you an idea on which players makes the most money out of their jerseys, we list the best-selling jerseys from the first half of the 2021-22 season.

Of course, this list is dominated mostly by superstars yearly. LeBron, Curry, Durant and Antetokounmpo are almost always on this list each season.

But there are also a lot of rising stars such as Luka Doncic, Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, and Lamelo Ball making it into the list.

Looking out from individual jersey sales, we see the most popular teams by merchandise sales from 2021-22 here:

1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Golden State Warriors
3. Milwaukee Bucks
4. Brooklyn Nets
5. Boston Celtics
6. New York Knicks
7. Chicago Bulls
8. Philadelphia 76ers
9. Toronto Raptors
10. Dallas Mavericks

As we can see, this list is somewhat related to the best-selling jersey list above. Some of the most popular players are still in this team merchandise list such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

How Much Does an NBA Jersey Cost?

Each team gets around 4-5 different types of jerseys to use each season. As such, there are different styles and players to choose from.

But how much does an NBA jersey cost to buy as a fan?

By browsing at the NBA Store, you can see that jerseys can cost anywhere from $50 to $250 depending on the style and demand.

Regular jerseys usually cost just under a hundred dollars, but special jerseys can cost more.  

Why Do Fans Buy NBA Jerseys?

In every sport, there are countless fans supporting their favorite players and teams. The NBA is one of the most popular leagues in the world which allows them to earn a lot from jersey sales.

But why exactly do fans buy jerseys? Where do they typically use them? Here are the most popular reasons:

• To support their favorite teams/players
• To wear at games
• For everyday wear/fashion
• For charity
• To wear on amateur/pickup games

There are many reasons why fans love to buy NBA jerseys. But the main one is to support their favorite players. You’ll often see fans wearing these jerseys during games whether at stadium or at home.

Final Thoughts

There are millions of NBA fans worldwide so there’s likely to be millions of jerseys sold as well. So, we can assume that the best-selling jerseys have players earning a lot.

Looking above the figures, the happiness that fans get when they wear these jerseys are more interesting to talk about.

Read these next:

• Do NBA Players Wear New Jerseys Every Game? (Answered)
• Why Do NBA Players Swap Jerseys? (This Is Why)
• How Much Do NBA Players Make? Average, Highest & Lowest