D-League salaries rise, remain low

At last check, D-League salaries were:

• Tier A: $25,500
• Tier B: $19,000
• Tier C: $13,000

Good news for anyone in the NBA’s minor league next season, especially those on the fringe.

Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (hat tip: Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders):

A league source has told Upside & Motor the structure will be altered for the 2016/17 season. Now there will only be two tiers for salaries as the “C” has been eliminated. The new salary levels will be $19,500 (B-Level) and $26,000 (A-Level) and the salary cap will rise to $209,000 also.

To be clear, this is for players on D-League contracts. Players on NBA contracts who are assigned to the D-League continue receiving their NBA salary (minimum: $543,471).

Yes, these salaries are still low. But everyone on a D-League contract is an NBA free agent. NBA teams won’t pay a premium for someone without gaining exclusive control of his rights.

Expect a major shakeup in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. As the D-League grows to 30 teams and a one-to-one affiliate for each NBA team, it’ll be feasible for NBA teams to hold the NBA rights of D-League players. Then, D-League salaries will really take off.