June 18, 2009
When Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez announced he was withdrawing from the NBA draft this week, it undoubtedly elicited an emotional response from him teammates, as Tuesday’s Washington Post article points out.
But for Vasquez, who became the first Terrapin to finish a season as the team leader in scoring, rebounding and assists and other categories last year, the decision to stay for a fourth year was ultimately a business call.
With a guard-loaded draft coming up at the end of the month, Vasquez was projected as a second-round pick at best. Unlike the NFL, the NBA has a structured salary system for its draftees. (Salaries are awarded according to their draft position: the first overall pick receives more than the second pick, the second more than the third, and so on.)
Last year’s ninth through 21st overall selections, for example, made between $1.8 million and $1 million for their first year salary, respectively. The bottom third of the first rounders made between roughly $800,000 and $980,000.
Salaries for picks one through eight have an even greater variance....
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