Four years ago, earning three million net per season placed you among Europe's best-paid basketball players. Today, that's not enough to crack the top ten. Eurohoops' EuroLeague 2026-27 salary review sets the cutoff at $3.2 million, leaving out names like Walter Tavares and Jean Montero.
The List
Leading the way is Vasilije Micic, with $5.6 million at Hapoel Tel Aviv, with a singular detail: the Serbian point guard also owns a small percentage of the club's ownership, which likely makes him the only active player in the world with equity stake in his team.
Behind him are three Panathinaikos players: Kendrick Nunn ($5.3 million), Guershon Yabusele ($5 million), and Nigel Hayes-Davis ($4.5 million). Rounding out the top five is Sasha Vezenkov, with $4.2 million at Olympiacos, in the third year of a five-year contract—a duration reserved for very few in Europe.
Completing the list are Sylvain Francisco ($4 million, Panathinaikos), Elijah Bryant ($3.6 million, Hapoel), and Dzanan Musa ($3.5 million, Dubai). And at the final tier, four players tied at $3.2 million: Evan Fournier and Nikola Milutinov at Olympiacos, Mathias Lessort at Panathinaikos, and Thomas Walkup at Dubai.
Only Four Clubs on the Entire List
That's the statistic that best explains current inequality. Panathinaikos, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Olympiacos, and Dubai monopolize the twelve highest contracts on the continent. The Greek club accounts for five of them, which cost it €3 million in "financial fair play" penalties last season.
Absent from the list are Fenerbahçe, Anadolu Efes, Real Madrid, and Olimpia Milano—hardly poor clubs.
Why There Are No Spanish Players
Here's the part that matters locally, and the explanation is fiscal. Spain's high tax rates dramatically increase net salaries: to pay a player three million clean, a Spanish club must spend far more than an Israeli or Emirati one.
The result is that Walter Tavares, one of the best centers in recent EuroLeague history, misses the cutoff with a net salary below three million. And no Spanish club appears among those paying the highest contracts.
It doesn't mean Madrid or Barcelona can't compete, but rather that they compete with a different model: more distribution, less concentration in one or two players.
Those Around the Cutoff
Below the $3.2 million mark are more names than it seems. Jean Montero, recently arrived at Olympiacos, sits around three million, as does Mike James at Anadolu Efes. The list of players in the $2.5 million range is, according to the report itself, longer than expected, and a starter earning two million is no longer news.
The most striking case is Shane Larkin. He was earning $3.75 million at Efes last season and his contract would have dropped to three million after signing with Fenerbahçe, though sources disagree and it could be higher.
Special mention for Jonas Valanciunas, who returned to Zalgiris for $5.5 million net over two seasons—a modest figure for his status.
A Necessary Disclaimer
All these figures are unofficial and come from journalistic reports, not club or league sources. EuroLeague does not publish salaries, unlike the NBA, where contracts are public.
To compare with the American league, it's worth doubling the figures: NBA salaries are published gross and approximately half goes to taxes, while in Europe figures are quoted net because clubs assume local taxation.
The Highest Contracts in EuroLeague 2026-27, According to Eurohoops' Review
- Vasilije Micic (Hapoel Tel Aviv): $5.6 million
- Kendrick Nunn (Panathinaikos): $5.3 million
- Guershon Yabusele (Panathinaikos): $5 million
- Nigel Hayes-Davis (Panathinaikos): $4.5 million
- Sasha Vezenkov (Olympiacos): $4.2 million
- Sylvain Francisco (Panathinaikos): $4 million
- Elijah Bryant (Hapoel Tel Aviv): $3.6 million
- Dzanan Musa (Dubai): $3.5 million
- Evan Fournier (Olympiacos): $3.2 million
- Mathias Lessort (Panathinaikos): $3.2 million
- Nikola Milutinov (Olympiacos): $3.2 million
- Thomas Walkup (Dubai): $3.2 million