We already know that the Golden State Warriors’ payroll is at an historic level as the team looks to repeat as NBA champions and continue its near decade-long dynasty.
We now have some concrete figures regarding the financial status of the Warriors and other NBA teams courtesy of ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Golden State paid a whopping $45 million into the NBA’s revenue share program last season, topping all teams around the Association.
The Los Angeles Lakers came in second with $42.8 million while the New York Knicks were third at $20.9 million. The Boston Celtics ($15.7 million) and Chicago Bulls ($10 million) rounded out the top five. Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers received a whopping $42.2 million in cold hard cash from the revenue share system.
There’s certainly a lot of layers to look into here. And in reality, this revenue share system shouldn’t be seen as friendly to large-market teams or those who have had success marketing their brand such as the Warriors.
It’s not a coincidence that Forbes’ estimates have the Warriors, Knicks and Lakers as the three-most valuable teams in the NBA. Indiana ranks as the 26th-most valuable franchise with a worth of $1.9 billion. That’s $5.1 billion less than the Golden State Warriors.
Revenue share numbers around the NBA take into account what a team receives in a season when it comes to local television numbers, ticket sales and apparel sales, among other factors.
Related: Golden State Warriors are now NBA’s most-valuable franchise
NBA revenue share and the Golden State Warriors
This is part of larger economic issues as they relate to today’s NBA. In addition to paying out the most in revenue share, the Warriors’ luxury tax bill remains the highest in the history of the Association.
Including said tax bill, the Warriors boast an absolutely ridiculous $475 million payroll for the 2022-23 season. It’s unfortunate given that their core three in that of Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were all drafted by the organization. Despite this, Golden State is paying a repeater tax.
We’re not going to sit back and say that Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber can cry poor. The two purchased this organization from all-time worst owner Chris Cohan for a mere $410 million back in 2010. Thirteen years later, and the Warriors’ franchise value is $7 billion.
That’s a great return on your investment. But it’s not like Lacob and Guber haven’t played a role in this success. Golden State’s move to a waterfront arena in San Francisco from Oakland years back is a prime example of this.
Either way, there’s certainly something fishy about small-market teams in today’s Association benefiting from the success teams like the Golden State Warriors have had.