The Nuggets won their first championship in franchise history, and except for Jokic, who looked calm, the other players were basically caught in passion and crazy celebration. For a professional player, an NBA championship is a great goal they spend their lives chasing. In the case of business alliances, bonuses are also an integral part.
So, how much prize money will they get after the Nuggets win the championship?
The league's prize money is divided into two types, regular season and playoffs, with regular season prize money determined based on record ranking. This season, the first regular season record is the Bucks, whose prize money reached $777,840; The prize money for the first place in the division is $680,000 each, namely the Bucks and Nuggets; The second prize money in the division, each with $547,039, is the Celtics and the Grizzlies.
By analogy, the third-place team in the division gets $408,364, the fourth-place team gets $320,000, the fifth team in the division gets $267,411, and the sixth team gets $182,391. According to the rules, only the top six in the division can get the bonus. In this way, the Bucks are undoubtedly the biggest winners, with more than $1.43 million in prize money for the first place in the regular season.
Let's look at the bonus rules for the playoffs. In the playoffs, for each series played, the team was able to get a series of bonuses, which they gradually accumulated. For example, the first round of the Bucks can get a prize of $402,479; The Warriors, who were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals, received $478,902 in second-round prize money and competed in two series, with a total playoff prize pool of about $880,000.
Teams that participate in the divisional finals can receive $791,398; The team that won the division championship but failed to win the championship, that is, the overall runner-up Heat, with a prize fund of $3,164,731; The prize money for the championship team is $4,775,940. Together with first-round, second-round and Eastern Conference finals, the overall runner-up Heat have a total playoff prize pool of $4.83 million this season. In terms of the Nuggets, they received $680,000 in regular season prize money; In the playoffs, he received $6.4 million.
Attached is the specific distribution of the NBA prize pool for this season
Regular season winner (Bucks): $777,840
Regular season division first place (Bucks, Nuggets): $1361206, each with $680603
Second place in the regular season division (Celtics, Grizzlies): $1094078, $547039 each
Third place in the regular season division (76ers, Kings): $816729, $408364 each
Fourth in the regular season division (Cavaliers, Suns): $641862, each with $320931
Fifth in the regular season division (Knicks, Clippers): $534822, $267411 each
6th in the regular season division (Nets, Warriors): $364782, $182391 each
Teams that make the first round of the playoffs (16 in total): $6439658, each receiving $402479
Semi-final teams (8 in total): $3831216, each receiving $478902
Divisional finalists (4 teams in total): $3165594, each receiving $791398
Finals loser (Heat): $3164731
Championship (Nuggets): $4775940
However, the prize money, which totals $7.28 million, is complicated to share within the team. Sometimes teams are assigned based on other factors such as players' playing time, number of appearances, and scoring performance. And for superstars, their salaries are very high, and many times they don't care about these small money, and the team will allocate the main share to the coaching staff, locker room support staff, etc.
In addition, members of the championship team each receive a championship ring, which is worth between $20,000 and $100,000. For some ordinary employees, this is already a very generous reward. What's more, they followed the team through an unforgettable championship season, a testament to them as champion members, unsung heroes.
After the Nuggets won the championship, many players on the team also reaped huge rewards. Gordon, for example, has a championship bonus included in his contract, and he can get $1 million for this win. For example, Michael Porter, who previously signed a five-year top salary of $172 million, the last year is partially guaranteed. However, since the clause stipulates that if he can meet any of the following 4 conditions, his contract will be converted to full security.
1. Not being cut by the guaranteed deadline for the 26-27 season
2. Entered the All-Star twice
3. Get MVP/DPOY/Best Team/Best Defensive Team
4. Win championships + meet the number of appearances requirement (62 appearances in the regular season + 75% appearance rate in the playoffs)
Apparently, Porter Jr. achieved his goal, and his salary guarantee in his final year increased from $12 million to $40.806 million. Although Porter Jr. has the opportunity to achieve other conditions in the future, now, he can basically be said to be in the bag and become the biggest winner.