How NBA Players Actually Get Paid: Draymond Green Breaks Down Rookie Pay Structure

How does the pay work? Your pay structure is a part of negotiation. Most people are paid every 1st and the 15th all year. An NBA rookie can take an advance up to 15% of their salary after they're drafted, their contract is signed, and it's been approved by the NBA. Then you can take out a 15% advance. Especially for us, when we were coming into the league, we didn't have no money. What you should understand about rookies is the rookies don't get their first paycheck till November 15th, a month and a half into the season before they actually get their first paycheck. That's the start of the league year. The last week of your The last day you get paid is November 1st if you just go with the status quo, 1st and the 15th. Now, like I said, you can negotiate. Some guys get 50% of their salary by October 1st, and then they divvy up the rest. I think your last paycheck is in April, so you're not paid from April to November. So that's kind of the structure of how we paid. It can vary for different guys depending on negotiation, but that is a negotiation point for great agents. Bad agents don't negotiate that.