The most overpaid players in NBA history

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Seasons overpaid vs. underpaid: 5-3
Real value: $88,836,961
Career earnings: $163,525,665
Difference: -$74,688,704 (-45.67 percent)

Former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons probably wouldn’t be on this list if he had simply stayed on the trajectory he was on at the start of his career. After all, over his first four seasons, Simmons made three All-Star appearances, won Rookie of the Year, earned 3rd Team All-NBA and even received MVP votes in 2020-2021.

Considering that Simmons was on his rookie scale contract for most of that stretch, the Australian point guard was severely underpaid early in his career, peaking in 2019-20, when Real Value believes he was worth $15.8 million was underpaid.

Things have clearly gone downhill since Simmons missed the entire 2021-2022 season due to injury. Since then, the former LSU Tiger has played in just 57 games while averaging just 6.7 points. Over those three seasons combined, Simmons has earned a total of approximately $106.4 million, which explains his place in these rankings quite succinctly.

However, Simmons is reportedly heading into the upcoming season fully healthy, and his team, the Brooklyn Nets, isn’t exactly loaded with talent right now, so who knows? Maybe we’ll see vintage Simmons emerge and he performs a little closer to his contract value.

Click here to learn more about Ben Simmons’ career salary.