“He’s Probably Going to Make $250 Million More”: Charles Barkley Isn’t Worried About LA Taxes for Luka Doncic Due to the NBA’s New TV Deal

Luka Doncic getting traded to the Los Angeles Lakers continues to be the talk of the NBA world. While the anticipation of watching the Slovenian superstar team up with the great LeBron James is exciting, some analysts have also pointed out the massive amount of money that Doncic is losing out on because of the loss of a potential supermax contract with the Mavericks. Charles Barkley delved into the topic during a recent edition of “The Steam Room” and explained why he’s not worried about Doncic’s losses.

Had Doncic remained in Dallas, he could have signed a five-year, $345 million supermax contract extension with the Mavs. Instead, he will now have to settle for a five-year deal with the Lakers for only $215 million. To add insult to injury, he now has to pay high taxes living in California — 10.25% in LA county alone — as compared to much lower taxes in Texas.

However, Barkley doesn’t seem to think it will matter in the end since Doncic is going to make up that money whenever the NBA signs its new television deal.

“He going to make more than that $100 million next time because the next time he get a contract it will be under the new TV contract,” Barkley stated.  “Instead of losing $100 million, he’s probably going to make $250 million more. Because when that new TV deal kicks in it goes from $1.2 billion to $2.5 billion, then you factor another $2 billion from Amazon. So all this money now is going to be chump change.”

The NBA signed an 11-year broadcasting deal in the summer of 2024 worth $76 billion, which includes partnerships with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon. This is over $50 billion more than its current deal, which expires at the end of this season. Barkley’s point is that the next CBA (collective bargaining agreement) will allow Doncic to multiply his earnings whenever he inks his next extension with the Lakers.

The Steam Room’s other guest, WNBA legend Candace Parker, disagreed with Barkley. She explained that Doncic would have made the increase from the NBA contract, plus another $100 million on his potential supermax deal with the Mavericks.

“I feel like he would have made that in addition. He would have made ($100 million) in addition to that (TV deal increase).”

Barkley and Parker are both correct in their own way. Doncic will miss out on the $100 million, there’s no doubt about it. Furthermore, he’ll have to wait years before he pens a new contract with the incentives of the TV deal kicking in.

Luka Doncic also makes a killing through his endorsement deals

Luka Doncic’s net worth is only going to see an uptick in the coming years with the five-time All-Star capitalizing on the big market in LA. The 25-year-old superstar rakes in a large annual salary through his NBA contracts — and even more through his lucrative sponsorship deals. Forbes reported that Doncic makes an additional $15 million annually through these endorsements, which include the Jordan Brand, Panini, NBA 2K, and BioSteel.

That is only set to increase in LA.

Doncic’s overall net worth is roughly around $75 million, per internet sources. We’ll have to see how much that increases in the next few years.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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