The standard G League salary is $46,350 for the 2026-27 season, up from $45,000 in 2025-26. Players who spend the whole season on a G League roster without getting paid by an NBA team also get an extra payment of about $5,150, which pushes the total past $51,000. Players on two-way contracts earn far more, more than $600,000 a season, because they are paid by an NBA team.
So there is no single answer to how much G League players make. It depends on the type of deal: a standard G League contract, an Exhibit 10 deal with a bonus, or a two-way contract. The gap between the bottom and top of the league is huge.
What is the G League?
The NBA G League is the NBA’s official minor league. It began in 2001 as the National Basketball Development League, became the NBA Development League, or D-League, in 2005, and took the G League name in 2017 through a sponsorship deal with Gatorade. We cover that history in more detail in our piece on the NBA D-League.
The 2026-27 season is the league’s 26th. There are 31 teams: 30 are tied to an NBA franchise, one per club, and the Mexico City Capitanes play as an independent team. The NBA G League is a proving ground for young prospects, undrafted players, veterans trying to get back to the NBA, and coaches and referees working their way up.
It works. Fred VanVleet went undrafted, played for the Toronto Raptors’ G League team, Raptors 905, and became an NBA champion with Toronto. According to the league, 51 percent of players on NBA opening-night rosters in 2025-26 had G League experience, and every NBA team had at least one G League alum.
G League salary for 2025-26 and 2026-27
G League pay is set by the league’s first collective bargaining agreement, signed in October 2025 between the NBA G League and the Next Gen Basketball Players Union. It is a four-year deal running through the 2028-29 season, with an option to end it early after 2027-28.
| Season | Standard salary | Extra payment for full-season players with no NBA pay |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | about $43,000 | none |
| 2025-26 | $45,000 | $5,000 |
| 2026-27 | $46,350 | $5,150 |
The standard salary rose 4.7 percent in 2025-26 and goes up 3 percent a year after that. The extra payment, which the CBA calls the Enhanced Minimum Salary Payment, also grows 3 percent a year. Only players who stay on a G League roster for the full season and never earn money from an NBA team qualify.
The salary covers a season that runs from November into the spring. G League players sign one-year deals with the league itself rather than with individual teams, and the league assigns them to clubs.
Benefits on top of salary
The new CBA also improved life off the court. According to the NBPA summary of the deal, players get:
- Individual housing in their home market and individual hotel rooms on the road
- A per diem that rose 15 percent in 2025-26 and grows 3 percent a year
- Full health insurance reimbursement for veteran players
- Better travel, including full-size charter buses
- More mental health resources and a career development program
What is the average G League salary?
Because most players earn the same flat salary, the typical G League player makes about $46,000 in 2026-27, or a little over $51,000 with the full-season payment. The league average is higher than that, because two-way players and players with Exhibit 10 bonuses earn much more while spending part of the season in the G League.
That makes the average misleading. A roster can include a two-way player earning more than $600,000 next to teammates making the standard salary.
Two-way contracts
A two-way contract lets a player split time between an NBA team and its G League affiliate. Each NBA team can carry up to three two-way players, and each of them can be active for up to 50 regular-season NBA games.
The pay is set at 50 percent of the NBA minimum salary for a player with no years of service. In 2025-26, that came to $636,435. The figure rises each year with the NBA minimum. A two-way player earns that salary whether he spends most of his time in the G League or the NBA, which is why a two-way deal is the top prize for most G League players.
Exhibit 10 contracts
An Exhibit 10 is a one-year, non-guaranteed NBA contract, usually handed out for training camp. It matters for G League pay because it comes with a bonus. If the player is waived and then spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate, he collects the bonus on top of his G League salary.
The maximum Exhibit 10 bonus was $85,300 for 2025-26 and is projected at about $91,200 for 2026-27. A team can carry up to six Exhibit 10 contracts at a time. Players signed and waived this way often become what the G League calls affiliate players, and each NBA team can now designate up to five of them, up from four.
The team can also convert an Exhibit 10 into a two-way contract before the regular season. For a player, that jump is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
NBA call-ups: the path up
The G League exists to feed the NBA, and call-ups are the reason most players are there. A player on a standard G League contract can be signed by any NBA team, not only the one his club is tied to. That can mean a 10-day contract, a two-way deal or a standard NBA contract.
Even a short call-up pays well. A 10-day contract at the NBA minimum is worth more than many G League players make in several months, and a strong 10 days can turn into a contract for the rest of the season.
Players with enough years in the league also gained more freedom under the new CBA. Starting in 2026-27, teams keep returning player rights to veterans with three or more seasons for one year instead of two, and the buyout for players with five or more seasons drops from $50,000 to $30,000.
What happened to G League Ignite?
G League Ignite was a team of top prospects run directly by the league, built as an alternative to college for players waiting to become draft-eligible. It paid some of those prospects far more than the standard G League salary. Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd were the first big names, skipping college basketball in 2020 to sign with the program. Over its four seasons, it sent 13 players to the NBA Draft, including lottery picks Jalen Green and Scoot Henderson.
The program ended after the 2023-24 season. With college players now able to earn money from name, image and likeness deals, the pitch for skipping college became harder to make.
Can you make a living playing in the G League?
You can get by, but most players treat it as a short-term investment rather than a career. The standard salary of $46,350 for a season of about five months, plus housing and per diem, is a livable wage for a young player. It is not much for a veteran with a family, which is why so many experienced players leave for overseas contracts.
The money in the G League is in the jump. The highest-paid players in the league are the ones on two-way contracts, and the lowest-paid players in the NBA are also two-way players, at half the NBA minimum. A few strong weeks, better points per game and good defense on film can move a player from $46,350 to a six-figure two-way deal or an NBA roster spot.
G League salary vs overseas pay
For many players, the real choice is not the G League or the NBA. It is the G League or a contract overseas. Top clubs in Europe’s best leagues can pay far more than the G League standard salary, and many international contracts include housing and a car.
The G League’s selling point is exposure and player development. Every NBA front office and its scouts watch it, and players can be signed by any NBA team during the season. A player overseas is usually tied to his club until the season ends. That trade-off, more money now or a clearer shot at the NBA, is the decision many G League players face each summer.
Basketball below the G League also exists. Our guide to independent basketball covers the leagues that operate outside the NBA system, and our look at minor league sports business explains how these teams make money.
How G League pay compares with other minor leagues
The G League standard salary is in the same range as upper-level minor league baseball and above most AA hockey. A Triple-A baseball player makes at least $1,250 a week in 2026, as we explain in our guide to minor league baseball salaries. In hockey, ECHL players work under an $18,000 weekly team salary cap, while AHL players earn more, which we break down in ECHL vs AHL.
Summary
The G League standard salary is $46,350 for 2026-27, with an extra $5,150 for full-season players who get no NBA pay. Two-way players earn more than $600,000, and Exhibit 10 players can add a bonus of up to about $91,200. With 31 teams and more than half of NBA players coming through its ranks, the G League pays modestly but remains the most direct route to the NBA.