ESPN released a list this week of the highest paying sports franchises in the world. They ranked them based on the average salary they pay to their players each year.
Not surprisingly, there are a lot of European soccer teams at the top along with the New York Yankees, but would you believe the San Antonio Spurs are 12th on the list? They’re sitting right behind Manchester United, an English Premier League soccer team famous for spending absurd amounts of money.
Actually, the Spurs have the second highest average annual salary of all the NBA teams at about $5.5 million a year. They’re behind the Lakers ($6.3 million) but above the Bulls ($5.3 million), the Celtics ($5.3 million), the Heat ($5.3 million) and the Knicks ($4.2 million).
Of course, since NBA teams are obviously smaller than soccer and baseball teams, the Spurs ranked 83rd in overall payroll but it’s still amazing to me to see them at the top of this list.
I would have never known the Spurs were one of the highest paying teams in the league until this list came out. I guess the salaries of the “Big 3” really add up quickly.
Is anyone else surprised by the Spurs’ place on this list?
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