NBA superstars often make the news for signing massive million-dollar contracts, proof that there’s huge money at stake in the league. One other part of the team that provides entertainment for basketball fans also do pretty well for themselves.
Although they earn nowhere near the huge amounts of money that the players do, team mascots make a decent living. Their job description usually includes dancing and providing comedic relief during games, and appearing at team events.
According to Boardroom TV, a media network founded by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman, the average salary for a professional mascot amounts to some $60,000 per year.
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Top earners among NBA mascots
Just like NBA players, there are also great discrepancies in pay among mascots. The highest paid one is Rocky the Mountain Lion, representative of the Denver Nuggets, who earns $625,000 a year. This figure is more than ten times the median salary for the job.
Next on the list is Harry the Hawk who represents Atlanta: he earns $600,000 annually. He is followed by Benny the Bull of Chicago, with a yearly salary of $400,000, then Go the Gorilla of the Phoenix Suns who takes home $200,000 a year. Rounding out the top five earners is Hugo the Hornet who represents Charlotte, with a paycheck of $100,000 annually.
Top mascot salaries dwarf WNBA paychecks
To put things into perspective, the top three earners among NBA mascots all have a salary way higher than the top WNBA players (and all other WNBA players for that matter). Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart of Seattle Storm, and Diana Taurasi of Phoenix Mercury are tied for the highest salary in the league, amounting to $228,000.
Rocky the Mountain Lion of the NBA gets paid 2.75 times more than that.
