How much do ABA players make?
Short answer
No published figure for ABA player pay turned up. A 2012 report described each team as setting its own player salaries, and the only league-level figure on record is a $900,000 team cap on 10-player rosters when the league launched in 2000. Players should treat pay as whatever the contract says.
How much do ABA players make?
No published number turned up. The American Basketball Association has no league-wide salary scale that this research found, and no verified source reports current player pay. A 2012 report described the model this way: each team keeps its own revenue and sets its own ticket prices and player salaries. The team owner interviewed would not share player salaries, revenue figures or profit projections, per Richmond BizSense. The league's leader said in that article that most players live at home and have jobs.
Some salary aggregator sites list figures for ABA players. This article does not use them, because none states a sample or method, and a number with no source behind it can mislead a player who is deciding whether to sign.
What is the ABA?
It is a semi-professional men's league. Wikipedia describes it as an American semi-professional men's basketball minor league that played its first season in 2000-01. The same page says 97 teams completed at least one game in 2025-26 and that more than 350 franchises had folded by the end of 2013-14. The league has not published a single pay scale for its independently run teams.
What number is on record?
One, and it is old. When the league launched in 2000, it planned a $900,000 salary cap for 10-player rosters, per the Deseret News. That works out to a team average of $90,000 per player if a team spent the whole cap (a calculation from the two figures). It was a cap, not a pay scale, and it describes the launch year, not today's teams. No source found states what a current ABA team pays.
| Question | What a source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Is there a league pay scale? | None found; the 2012 report says each team sets salaries | Richmond BizSense, 2012 |
| What was the 2000 team cap? | $900,000 for 10-player rosters | Deseret News, 2000 |
| Is there a current published figure? | None found | None |
How does that compare with the next levels up?
Pay at the next levels is set in public documents. The NBA minimum for a rookie is $1,357,763 for 2026-27, as the minimum salary guide shows, and a two-way contract pays $678,882, as the two-way contract guide shows. The overseas contracts guide covers what clubs abroad put in writing, including what happens when a club does not pay. The ABA has no equivalent public scale to compare against.
What should a player ask before signing with an ABA team?
Everything in writing. Because each team sets its own terms, the contract is the only measure of what a player will earn. Ask these questions and keep the answers in an email:
- What is the pay per game or per month, and who pays it?
- Does the player pay any fee, for tryouts, uniforms, travel or housing?
- What happens to the pay if the team folds mid-season?
- Is there a written contract, and who signs for the team?
- Can the player leave for another team, and what does the contract say about it?
The league's history shows why the last two matter: more than 350 franchises had folded by the end of 2013-14, per Wikipedia. A player's contract is only as good as the team behind it.
Is the ABA a path to professional basketball?
It can be a place to play and be seen, but it is not a route with a set pay. Players who want to be paid in a league with published terms have other doors, which the professional basketball guide lays out, from the G League to overseas clubs. Agents notice that a player who signs without pay in writing has little to point to when something goes wrong.
A player who already has an offer from an ABA team can send it to an agent or lawyer for a read before signing. The cost of that read is small next to the cost of a season with no pay.
Sources
- Richmond BizSense: Local woman takes a shot at her dream (2012)
- Deseret News: ABA 2000 boosted by big names (2000)
- Wikipedia: American Basketball Association (2000-present)
Data current as of October 17, 2026. Figures are linked where each one appears. Leagues and regulators update these rules; check the source before relying on a number.
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