Who Makes More Money: MLB vs NBA Contracts

If you are wondering which sports league is more rewarding for players, then you’ve come to the right place. Today, we partnered with Sophia Novakivska of DashTickets online casino real money magazine to tell you everything you need to know about NBA and MLB salaries.

Who makes more money?

Let’s start by answering the question directly.

According to Statista, the average yearly player wage in the NBA is 8.32 million dollars, making it the highest-paying professional sports league worldwide. In comparison, MLB players earn considerably less — only 4.03 million per year.

If we were to compare some of the highest-paid players in both sports, we would also notice a clear pattern. Three NBA players — Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant — have made it on Forbes’ Top 10 World’s Highest-Paid Athletes list for 2025, with Stephen Curry holding the second position right behind Cristiano Ronaldo. In comparison, two players from MLB (Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani) achieved 7th and 9th positions. 

What’s more interesting is that out of 50 athletes on the list, there are only three baseball players, but 16 basketball stars. That means that 32% of the highest-paid athletes play basketball, while only 6% play baseball.

But why is that the case? Let’s figure it out. 

What makes the NBA so much more profitable for players?

First and foremost, most sports make money from broadcasting, ticket sales, sponsorships, and so on, and this money is distributed between everyone involved in the industry, which obviously includes players. That makes more popular sports more rewarding, but it also incidentally makes some league structures more profitable for players than others. 

According to Dentdeleone, MLB features around 900 players with 25 players per single roster. At the same time, the NBA has around 450 players with 15 players per roster. What that means is that there are simply fewer people to split the money between, resulting in higher payments. 

While both leagues feature guaranteed contracts, which are highly beneficial for players, MLB contracts are generally way more long-term-oriented, meaning that NBA players generally earn more per year.

The NBA also features a unique supermax contract deal, which is designed to keep veteran players interested in playing for the team for the next 4 to 5 years instead of looking for a better deal. It works as follows: the player gets to earn around 35% of the league’s salary cap as well as an extra 8% bonus for each subsequent year of the contract. Recent supermax deals range from 170 to 207 million dollars, and there are only a handful of these deals due to how demanding they are. 

Finally, it is worth pointing out that NBA players also make way more money due to sponsorships than MLB players. The reason is simple — basketball players are significantly more popular outside of the U.S., making them better representatives for sportswear and other products. 

Top 10 NBA Contracts in 2026

Top 10 MLB Contracts in 2026

As you can see, after the first two with massive contracts for Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker, the baseball contracts begin to have noticeably less value.