Every NBA player sees a chunk of their paycheck disappear before it ever hits their bank account. That deduction isn't a tax — it's escrow.
And in recent years, most players haven't been getting much of it back.
Escrow exists because of a rule in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA): the players, as a group, are guaranteed a specific percentage of Basketball Related Income (BRI). That percentage is currently 51%.
If total player salaries across the league exceed 51% of BRI at the end of the season, the difference comes out of the escrow fund and goes back to the owners. If player salaries are under 51%, the escrow money goes back to the players.
That's how it's supposed to work.
The league withholds 10% of every player's salary during the season. For a player on a $10 million contract, that's $1 million held back. For a max player at $50 million, it's $5 million.
This happens automatically — it's deducted from each paycheck before you see it.
Sometimes. In the 2024‑25 season, players received only about 9% of their escrow back. That means for every $1 million withheld, only about $90,000 was returned. The rest went to the owners.
The return rate varies by season. In some years, players get most of it back. In others, like 2020‑21 during the pandemic, the escrow rate was temporarily increased to as high as 25%.
Never count on escrow money. When you're calculating your true take‑home pay, treat the full 10% escrow withholding as if it's gone. Anything that comes back after the season is a bonus — not a guarantee.
This is one of the most overlooked deductions in professional sports, and it's a big reason why the headline contract number almost never matches what lands in your account.
See your true NBA take‑home pay, including escrow:
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