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If you were to stop me on the street and say ‘Hey Cass, which sports team is the highest paid in the entire world, regardless of sport?’ I’d likely say something like Real Madrid or Barcelona. I’ll tell you what my answer wouldn’t be: some team from the NBA that isn’t located in New York or Los Angeles, and I’d be wrong.
Sportingintelligence recently published their annual Global Sports Salaries Survey (GSSS). This is the 8th time they’ve published this report, and it tracks ‘first team pay’ of every professional sports team in the world. This is the most useful metric for measuring different teams across sports and throughout the world according to Sportingintelligence. In 2015, there were 8 soccer teams in the top 10. Today? The three highest-paid sports teams in the world are all in the NBA, and the NBA accounts for 9 of the top 12.
12. Detroit Pistons, $7,851,121 average salary per player ($150,983/week)
11. Toronto Raptors, $7,853,384 average salary per player ($151,027/week)
10. New Orleans Pelicans, $7,882,028 average salary per player ($151,597/week)
9. Real Madrid, $8,092,283 average salary per player ($155,621/week)
8. Los Angeles Clippers, $8,331,098 average salary per player ($160,213/week)
7. Portland Trail Blazers, $8,364,772 average salary per player ($160,861/week)
6. Charlotte Hornets, $8,379,766 average salary per player ($161,149/week)
5. PSG (soccer/Paris), $8,414,061 average salary per player ($161,809/week)
4. F.C. Barcelona, $8,576,750 average salary per player ($164,938/week)
3. Golden State Warriors, $8,940,786 average salary per player ($171,938/week)
2. Cleveland Cavaliers, $8,995,628 average salary per player ($172,992/week)
1. Oklahoma City Thunder, $9,295,504 average salary per player ($178,760/week)
I wouldn’t have been too far from guessing ‘Barcelona’ since they are the 4th highest paid team in the world, but I’m still shook to the core by this news. How is it possible that the highest paid sports team on the planet is located in Oklahoma City?! This isn’t a slight against OKC, it’s just a much smaller city and market than NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Miami. The entire state population of Oklahoma is under 4 million. That’s under half the size of NYC.
It’s also alarming to see that the Charlotte Hornets are in the Top 10 Highest Paid Sports Teams in the World. When’s the last time the Hornets won a championship? I’ll save you the trouble of looking it up and tell you: never. The Charlotte Hornets have never even won the Conference or the Division yet they’re the 6th highest paid team in the world. Unbelievable.
You can access the full Sportingintelligence report HERE if you want to read up more on teh methodology here.