WORTH THE MONEY
Stephen Curry earned his monster payday from the Warriors.
The news of Stephen Curry’s brand new “super-max” contract was still fresh when the hand-wringing and nay-saying started. How could any athlete be worth $201 million, guaranteed? A column in Curry’s hometown paper found it necessary to point out that Curry could fund 1,000 teachers annually with his new salary (perhaps an attempt to make Charlotte feel better about the collapse of the pipe dream of Curry returning home). The Curry bashers came out of the woodwork to say LeBron James is better. (James, himself, tweeted congratulations to Curry and publicly wondered why there’s a cap on how much players can receive.)
How can Curry be worth it?
For starters, he’s been the biggest bargain in sports for the past four seasons. He signed a contract extension in 2013, paying him $44 million over four seasons. Since then, he has twice won the league MVP, once unanimously, has won two championship rings and come within a hair of a third. He is the most highprofile player on the NBA’s winningest team.
And he never once complained or pouted or even seemed mildly annoyed or disrespected by the size of his contract. He applauded the big deals his teammates received. He went out of his way to recruit another superstar, who — with a different franchise or in a different culture — could potentially make him irrelevant.
So, yes, Curry had his big payday coming.
Everyone benefits
Second, and more important, he’s helped make everyone around him rich.
When Joe Lacob bought the Golden State Warriors in 2010, he got the team for $450 million. He actually overpaid. The year before that purchase, the year Curry was drafted, the Warriors — the only NBA team in America’s sixth-biggest market — were valued 18th in the league at $315 million. The Lakers were the league’s most valuable team and the New York Knicks were second. Among the teams the Warriors trailed in worth: Phoenix, Toronto, Cleveland, Utah and Portland.
The Warriors had loyal fans and a decent building but were among the biggest losers in sports. They were a joke of a franchise, and when Lacob bought them, the Warriors had only one asset worth holding onto.
And it wasn’t Andris Biedrins.
It was Curry. He was the foundation of everything that was to come. The original building block. Lacob didn’t know he had a player who would become a two-time MVP. Who would lead the league in jersey sales. Who would change the perception of the NBA and become the most popular player in the league, arguably in all of sports.
But Lacob hired smart people who saw Curry’s value, traded away what other assets they had (like Monta Ellis) and built a championship team on the foundation laid by No. 30.
Fast forward seven years, and the Warriors are now valued at $2.6 billion. All NBA franchises are worth significantly more than they were in 2010, thanks to the league’s $24 billion TV deal and the inflated purchase prices of teams like the L.A. Clippers. But it isn’t just the rising NBA tide that has lifted the Warriors. The team is now, according to Forbes, the third-most valuable franchise in the league. The Knicks are No. 1 at $3.3 billion. The Lakers are second at $3 billion. The Warriors have leapfrogged everyone else.
And that’s two years before they are set to move into the Chase Center in San Francisco. Forbes predicted the Warriors may challenge the Lakers or Knicks for the top spot when their new building opens.
Forbes’ valuation includes factors like the Warriors having the highest average cable TV rating in 2015-16, plus a season-ticket waiting list of 32,000 and a 99.5 percent renewal rate.
Creating a global brand
Those things come from winning. The Warriors are winning. And they are doing so in large part because of Curry, who also happens to be a beloved, dynamic, unbelievably popular player whom people like to watch.
Is Curry worth it? His deal surpassed the one Blake Griffin just agreed to, and there’s not a person on the planet — not even Griffin’s mom — who could argue that Griffin is worth more than Curry. In other sports, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke is making $34.4 million. He’s never won a championship. Raiders quaterback Derek Carr just signed the NFL’s most lucrative contract, $25 million a year. He may end up being worth it, but it’s based on the future, not on what he’s accomplished.
Globally, Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid athlete, making about $58 million from Real Madrid. Lionel Messi makes about $53 million from Barcelona. Considering the championships they’ve won and the global spotlight they bring to their clubs, you could argue they are worth it. (These numbers don’t account for players’ endorsement earnings, which significantly increases their net worth.)
Curry has done the same thing for the Warriors. Created a global brand. A wildly popular product. He’s the face of one of the most successful businesses in sports.
And he helped make everyone around him very rich.
So, yes — he’s worth it.
AFTER ENRICHING HIS FRANCHISE, CURRY HAD BIG PAYDAY COMING