As the NBA developed plans for an in-season tournament – now called the NBA Cup – it considered ways to incentivize players.
The mere fact of calling yourself a champion is one way. Adding a cash prize certainly raises the stakes.
Last season, in the first year of the NBA Cup, players on teams that reached the quarterfinals and beyond received additional compensation: $50,000 for players who lost in the quarterfinals, $100,000 for players who lost in the semifinals, $200,000 for players who lost in the final and $500,000 for players who won the NBA Cup.
The prize money increased for the 2024 NBA Cup.
Here are the NBA Cup financial rewards for this season and the reason for the increase:
What is the prize money for the NBA Cup?
Here is the NBA Cup prize money for players in 2024:
Players on losing quarterfinals teams: $51,497
Players on losing semifinals teams: $102,994
Players on losing team in championship game: $205,988
Players on winning team in NBA Cup championship game: $514,970
Why did the NBA Cup prize money increase?
The prize money increased because the players and the league agreed on it in the 2023 collective bargaining agreement as it relates to basketball-related income.
Following the first season of the NBA Cup in 2023, according to the CBA, prize money will increase ‘for each subsequent Salary Cap Year: (A) for each IST Player on the Team that wins the IST Finals Game, an amount equal to $500,000 multiplied by the ‘BRI Growth Factor’ for such Salary Cap Year; (B) for each IST Player on the Team that loses the IST Finals Game, an amount equal to $200,000 multiplied by the BRI Growth Factor for such Salary Cap Year; (C) for each IST Player on a Team that loses an IST Semifinals game, $100,000 multiplied by the BRI Growth Factor for such Salary Cap Year; and (D) for each IST Player on a Team that loses an IST Quarterfinals game, $50,000 multiplied by the BRI Growth Factor for such Salary Cap Year.’
What is BRI growth factor? According to the CBA, ‘the BRI Growth Factor for a Salary Cap Year is a fraction, the numerator of which is BRI for the immediately preceding Salary Cap Year and the denominator of which is BRI for the 2022-23 Salary Cap Year; provided, however, that the NBA and Players Association may agree to reduce the BRI Growth Factor for one (1) or more Salary Cap Years to a smaller fraction with value of no less than one (1).’
In simpler terms, the prize money is about a 3% increase season over season.
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