• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
NBA

The Average NBA Player Spends $42,500 a Month, Including Big Bucks on Clothing

By
Brad Tuttle
Brad Tuttle
and
Money
Money
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Brad Tuttle
Brad Tuttle
and
Money
Money
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 9, 2016, 11:04 AM ET
EXPRESS Launch Party For Menswear Brand Ambassador Stephen Curry
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 13: Stephen Curry attends the EXPRESS Launch Party For Menswear Brand Ambassador Stephen Curry on February 13, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Express)Eugene Gologursky — Getty Images for Express

This piece originally appeared on Money.com.

The average NBA player spends $42,500 per month, or $510,000 over the course of the year, and 11% of that money is dropped on clothing and shoes—the biggest overall category for spending. Whole Foods (WFM), Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, Apple (AAPL), and Mercedes are among the top retailers in terms of NBA player spending, but so are some more middle-of-the-road stores like Target (TGT) and Walmart (WMT).

And the retailer that attracts the most NBA player cash of all is Express, the mall fashion staple that’s known for affordable business clothing for men and women alike. Express also features plenty of bold colors favored by basketball players, and apparently must have quite a great selection of Tall & Extended sizes. It probably doesn’t hurt that Steph Curry, the reigning league MVP Golden State Warriors guard and greatest shooter on the planet, has been a brand ambassador with Express since 2014 and refers to it as “one of my staple stores.”

The data all comes from a new study conducted by Personal Capital, a personal finance tool that tracked the spending of more than 50 NBA players from December through March. As a San Francisco Chronicle column noted of the study, “The results should be taken with a grain of salt, considering the small sample size.”

According to the study, “clothing/shoes” wasn’t truly the largest spending category. Instead, it was the vague “other,” accounting for 39% of the players’ money output. This is because it was difficult to classify many expenses, such as rent paid to an individual or mortgage paid via a bank.

Regardless, even though the average NBA rookie salary is $4.7 million (before taxes), the staggering amount of money spent each year by players—roughly 10 times the median annual household income in the U.S.—is cause for concern. Researchers have chronicled how professional athletes, and NBA and NFL players in particular, report extraordinarily high levels of bankruptcy or financial stress in the immediate years after retirement. What generally does them in is the combination of saving too little while their earnings are high, and becoming accustomed to a lavish lifestyle that’s hard to drop when the money is no longer coming in.

For more on athletes, watch this Fortune video:

On the flip side, there are financially savvy pro athletes like the NFL’s Ryan Broyles, a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions who has committed to living on a $60,000 annual budget even though his contract pays him $900,000 a year. Rob Gronkowski, the New England patriots’ dominant tight end, is another pro athlete who prides himself on saving. He says he hasn’t spent a dime of the $10+ million he’s made in salary and signing bonuses throughout his career, and has lived quite comfortably off of endorsement earnings instead.

“I live off my marketing money and haven’t blown it on any big-money expensive cars, expensive jewelry or tattoos and still wear my favorite pair of jeans from high school,” Gronkowski wrote in his book, It’s Good to Be Gronk.

About the Authors
By Brad Tuttle
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Money
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Middle EastMilitary
2 U.S. service members and one American civilian killed in Islamic State ambush in Syria, Central Command says
By Samar Kassabali, Bassem Mroue and The Associated PressDecember 13, 2025
24 minutes ago
InvestingStock
There have been head fakes before, but this time may be different as the latest stock rotation out of AI is just getting started, analysts say
By Jason MaDecember 13, 2025
36 minutes ago
Politicsdavid sacks
Can there be competency without conflict in Washington?
By Alyson ShontellDecember 13, 2025
1 hour ago
Investingspace
SpaceX sets $800 billion valuation, confirms 2026 IPO plans
By Loren Grush, Edward Ludlow and BloombergDecember 13, 2025
2 hours ago
PoliticsAffordable Care Act (ACA)
With just days to go before ACA subsidies expire, Congress is about to wrap up its work with no consensus solution in sight
By Kevin Freking, Lisa Mascaro and The Associated PressDecember 13, 2025
2 hours ago
PoliticsDonald Trump
Trump couldn’t insult his way to victory in Indiana redistricting battle. ‘Folks in our state don’t react well to being bullied’
By Thomas Beaumont, Isabella Volmert and The Associated PressDecember 13, 2025
3 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Tariffs are taxes and they were used to finance the federal government until the 1913 income tax. A top economist breaks it down
By Kent JonesDecember 12, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake for $800 in 1976—today it’d be worth up to $400 billion
By Preston ForeDecember 12, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
40% of Stanford undergrads receive disability accommodations—but it’s become a college-wide phenomenon as Gen Z try to succeed in the current climate
By Preston ForeDecember 12, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
For the first time since Trump’s tariff rollout, import tax revenue has fallen, threatening his lofty plans to slash the $38 trillion national debt
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 12, 2025
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
The Fed just ‘Trump-proofed’ itself with a unanimous move to preempt a potential leadership shake-up
By Jason MaDecember 12, 2025
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
At 18, doctors gave him three hours to live. He played video games from his hospital bed—and now, he’s built a $10 million-a-year video game studio
By Preston ForeDecember 10, 2025
3 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.