In August 2024, Golden State Warriors star guard Steph Curry became just the fourth player at the time to surpass $500 million in career earnings. The four-time NBA champion did so by inking a one-year deal worth $62.6 million.
Curry, 37, has long been one of the best players in the league and is widely regarded as the best shooter in league history. He has two NBA MVPs to his name, 11 All-Star selections and holds the NBA/ABA record for most threes in a career with 4,177 and counting.
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It isn’t shocking that the Warriors spent over $60 million to keep their homegrown talent in San Francisco. The deal is the largest yearly value in the NBA, but as a result of federal, state, local and jock taxes, Curry is not the top earner in the league.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30).© David Gonzales-Imagn Images
As reported by HoopsHype, Curry brings in the highest gross earnings, but his net earnings rank fourth in the NBA.
After taxes, Curry’s net earnings for this season come out to $30,332,025, which is less than notable names such as Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant, who leads the NBA in net earnings with $31,584,204.
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According to a TurboTax study, California has the highest state income tax rate at 13.3%. In contrast, both Durant (Houston Rockets) and Davis (Dallas Mavericks) benefit from the fact that Texas doesn’t have an income tax.
Bringing in over $30 million for playing basketball certainly isn’t the worst gig, but it would be interesting to see how much he’d make elsewhere. A sight that the Warrior faithful likely never want to think about.
Related: Chances of Warriors Trading Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green Revealed
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jan 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.