By Aris Barkas/ barkas@Eurohoops.net
The exact amount of money spent by European teams is always a hot topic since there are no official numbers. That’s why once more Eurohoops presents the list of the net earnings of the top players in Europe, which this year extends to 14 names.
While in general, especially after COVID, the trend for EuroLeague teams was to spend less and even talks about a form of salary cap were made – and are still ongoing – in total 14 players are getting paid more than $2M net annually, which is nearly a record.
As usual, the list includes salaries in US dollars for comparison even with the NBA and those numbers are net, since it’s even more complicated to compare gross salaries, due to the different taxation laws around Europe. Practically, you have to double the salaries to get an equivalent NBA contract. And what’s surprising is that two of the biggest names arriving this summer from the NBA, both Monaco’s Kemba Walker and Barcelona’s Jabari Parker, are not part of the list.
As usual, no player from Real Madrid is on the list, but many of them are around the range of $1,5M net – almost $3M gross including Spanish taxation – and that includes Tavares who on the last year of his contract gets near $1,9M.
1. Shane Larkin $4M (Anadolu Efes)
With Mirotic out of Barcelona and Micic in the NBA, Shane Larkin’s contract is by far the biggest in Europe. Remember, the contract was signed when Larkin and Anadolu Efes were back-to-back EuroLeague champions, so it makes all the sense in the world. Having said that, Larkin will be a free agent in the summer and it will be interesting to see if he will remain on the top of the li
2. Kostas Sloukas $2,8M (Panathinaikos)
Kostas Sloukas‘s move from Olympiacos to Panathinaikos made headlines during the summer and it was the transfer that proved beyond any doubt that the Athenian club really means business. It was the price that needed to be paid in order to get the player, plus it convinced other big-name stars that Panathinaikos‘ revamp really had high ambitions. Having said that, initially, it was reported, also from Eurohoops that the total three-year contract of Sloukas was worth 10 million euros according to sources close to the negotiation. However, sources close to Panathinaikos insist that the net annual salary of the player is 2,7 million euros, so 2,8 US dollars. It’s unclear if the initial number was just exaggerated or if it included also a signing bonus or extra goal-related bonuses. In any case, Eurohoops has to respect what the club is presenting as the final salary. After all, even at $2,8M per season, Sloukas remains the second-best contract on the list and the second highest-paid Greek basketball player ever in Europe after Theo Papaloukas with Vassilis Spanoulis move to Olympiacos from Panathinaikos getting the third spot.
3. Kevin Punter $2,6M (Partizan)
Kevin Punter decided to stay in Partizan and got a sizable raise including goal-attaining bonuses compared to the $1,5M which was his previous salary. Of course, if the deal with Barcelona was indeed signed when he initially decided to say yes to the offer, he would be second only to Larkin. The player himself has said numerous times that ultimately he decided to stay in Belgrade because he considered it the best option, however, there are also clear indications that Barcelona delayed completing the deal because at the time they were also hoping for a quick resolution of the Mirotic saga before making official the addition of their new big star. That’s how Partizan took the chance and had a couple of days to turn things around. Punter listened to his heart since in Belgrade he became a deity, and the rest is history.
4. Nikola Mirotic $2,5M (Armani Milan)
If you add the possible compensation from Barcelona, which owes 20M euros gross to Mirotic for the last two seasons of his previous record-setting contract, then he is by far the best-paid player in the history of European basketball. However, this is something that will probably be decided by a court of law, since Barcelona has unilaterally terminated the contract and there are no details about the next step of both sides in this financial dispute. However, even with his net salary from Milan, Mirotic remains near the top of the list.
5. Darius Thompson $2,3M (Anadolu Efes)
Darius Thompson is proof that quality point guards are always in demand. Still, after getting just 600,000 euros net in Baskonia, his salary sky-rocketed with Anadolu Efes paying also a 600,000 euro buyout to the Spanish team in order to get him. Simply put, this is a great contract, and the offer made by Efes was so big, that every other suitor simply backed down. The funny part of the deal is that in theory, Efes saved money, considering that Micic would get around $3,5M if he stayed.
6. Willy Hernangomez $2,2M (FC Barcelona)
Information about Barcelona’s contract is always debatable, but for sure despite parting ways with Mirotic, the club didn’t really hold back on spending. While there have been reports about a little bigger net salary, according to Eurohoops sources that’s a correct number. Mind you Spain has a taxation between 43% to 52% for residents, so practically Barcelona is paying double the money for Hernangomez than his actual net salary. At this point, the taxation in Spain is by far the biggest in Europe.
7-8. Tornike Shengelia $2,1M (Virtus Bologna)
The only big name that survived the “purge” of Virtus Bologna’s roster, remains one of the top forwards in Europe and the flag bearer of the club. Panathinaikos tried hard to get him and was even ready to pay a buyout, but ultimately decided to spend the money on a talent returning from the NBA.
7-8. Juancho Hernangomez $2,1M (Panathinaikos)
The long-rumored during the summer return of Juancho in Europe became a reality when Panathinaikos understood that they couldn’t get either Toko or Mirotic. However, getting Hernangomez may end up being better…
9-14. Will Clyburn $2M (Anadolu Efes)
Will Clyburn was signed as a marquee addition after the second straight triumph of Anadolu Efes in the summer of 2022 and remains one of the top-paid players in Europe.
9-14. Mike James $2M (Monaco)
The surprise here is not that Mike James is part of the Top 10 list, but that Kemba Walker is not. Per Eurohoops sources, Walker’s net salary is a little less than $2M, leaving James as the highest-paid player of Monaco.
9-14. Nicolo Melli $2M (Armani Milan)
Melli is in the third year of the deal he signed with Milan after returning from the NBA. The captain of the team deserves this kind of money and after all, he is not the only one that gets this sum from Milan.
9-14. Shabazz Napier $2M (Crevena Zvezda)
Crvena Zvezda got into the “arms race” started last year by Partizan and the end result was getting one of the top point guards in Europe on a salary that Milan couldn’t afford, since it was already given elsewhere.
9-14. Kevin Pangos $2M (Armani Milan)
Kevin Pangos remains one of the highest players in Europe, even if last season he couldn’t deliver what was expected from him. It remains to be seen if his performance on the court will be similar to his season with Zenit, which propelled his value.
9-14. Tomas Satoransky $2M (FC Barcelona)
Last but not least, one more point guard closes the list and Barcelona despite their effort to save money, still has two of the highest contracts in Europe on their payroll.