Steph Curry Made as Much Money in 5 Games as Charles Barkley Did in His Entire Career
Steph Curry sat out most of the 2019-20 season with an injury, but he still racked up a massive amount of cash after playing just five games. Curry signed his five-year, $201 million max contract before the 2017 season. With an average of $40.2 million per year, the deal made Curry the highest-paid player in the NBA. Curry made so much in 2019-20 season that he earned almost as much money as NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley earned over his entire 16-year career.
Steph Curry is the highest-paid player in NBA history
Prior to the 2017 NBA season, the Warriors offered their superstar point guard the richest contract in NBA history — a five-year deal worth $201 million. Once pen hit paper, Curry became the highest-paid player in NBA history on a per-year basis.
Many players get lazy after signing massive deals and their production falls off, but not Curry. In the 2017-18 season, Curry averaged 26.4 points and 6.1 assists per game. He also led the Warriors to an NBA title for the third time in the last four years.
Curry earned every penny of his record-breaking contract in 2017-18, and he didn’t slow down the following year. In 2018-18, Curry averaged 27.3 points per game and again led Golden State to the NBA Finals. Due to injury troubles, the Warriors barely competed and lost to the Raptors in the championship series.
Charles Barkley made just $40.6 million in the NBA
Charles Barkley played 16 years in the NBA and finished his career as one of the greatest to ever play the game. Barkley averaged 22.1 points and 11.7 rebounds over the course of his impressive career.
“The Round Mound of Rebound” made 11 straight All-Star games from 1986-1997. He won an All-Star Game MVP in the 1990-91 season and an NBA MVP award in 1992-93.
Throughout his entire NBA career, Barkley only made a shocking $40.6 million over 16 years in the league. He didn’t make over $1 million in a single season until his fourth year in the league.
Barkley made less than $5 million in every season of his NBA career until the final year of his playing days. The $9 million Barkley made in 1999-00 was by far the highest of his career.
Steph Curry made $40.2 million this season despite playing just 5 games
Due to an injury, Curry was only able to play in five games this year before the NBA suspended its season. The Warriors are far and away out of the playoff picture, so if the league returns to just start the playoffs, Curry’s season will be over.
Despite playing in just five games, Curry still earned his massive $40.2 million yearly salary. That means Curry earned $8 million per game in 2019-20, which is more than Barkley made in 15 of his 16 seasons in the NBA.
Curry’s $40.2 earnings this year almost surpass Barkley’s $40.6 million career earnings. It goes to show how far the NBA has come and how different the pay scale is now.
Curry and Barkley are similar players statistically besides the championship rings, but one almost made more money in one season than the other made in 16 seasons.
All stats courtesy of Basketball Reference
All contract info courtesy of Spotrac
