It’s July and that means NBA players are raking in the money during the league’s free-agency period. And it’s not just LeBron James, who signed with the Los Angeles Lakers for $153 million over four years, all of it guaranteed. Role players are making more money than established NFL stars. The Utah Jazz last week signed guard Dante Exum to a three-year, $33 million contract. Exum, whose career scoring average is 5.7 points per game, will make more than All-Pro Steelers guard David DeCastro, who ranks among the NFL’s highest-paid offensive linemen.
Naturally, the disparity in the pay scales and the amount of guaranteed money in contracts gets the attention of NFL players.