Alright, folks, time to jot down how I went digging to find out who’s really raking in the cash on the Blazers payroll. Honestly, with all the noise lately about Yang Hansen’s massive impact on the team’s popularity – retail going crazy, millions of new fans online – it got me thinking: who are the guys actually getting paid the big bucks? Heard some rumors about salary surprises too. Figured I’d dig in myself.
First thing I did? Grabbed my laptop and a giant cup of coffee. Thought it’d be easy peasy. “Player salaries? Bet they’ve got official lists somewhere,” I mumbled to myself like an idiot. Hopped straight onto Google and punched in something like “Portland Trail Blazers player salaries 2025”. Expected some clean NBA site or the Blazers page to pop right up. Yeah, right.
What I got instead was a pile of junk sites, outdated lists mostly showing last year’s roster – you know, guys who aren’t even here anymore! Total waste of time. Spotted a couple sites claiming “2025 salaries,” but the numbers looked super fishy, like someone pulled ’em outta thin air. Closed those tabs fast. Realized real quick the NBA doesn’t just hand out official salary sheets like candy.
Remembered hearing people talk about sites like “Spotrac” or “Hoopshype” for contract stuff. Okay, back to Google. This time I search specifically for “Hoopshype Portland Trail Blazers salaries“. Finally, a decent hit. Landed on their Blazers page. Lists the current guys, contract years… all laid out. Bingo! Scrooge McDuck time, right?
Skimmed the list top to bottom, eyes bulging. Some big names at the top: Anfernee Simons… big number. Scoot Henderson… solid rookie max deal getting started. Okay, expected that. Then I kept going down. Found Deandre Ayton… still hefty. Jerami Grant… big payday.
But here’s the thing nobody prepared me for: Seeing a bunch of dudes below those top guys getting paid WAY less than I figured. Role players I actually think are pretty solid, maybe even starters? Their numbers? Pocket change compared to the top dogs. Like, seriously? How does that even work?
Then came the “Oh Wow” moment. Spotted the absolute bottom of the barrel. Minimum contract guys. My jaw dropped. Like, these fellas suit up for the Blazers, practice hard, travel crazy schedules… and for that? Can barely fill up your gas tank with one game check type money? Blown away. Didn’t know the gap felt that brutal.
So, who sits atop the Blazers money mountain right now? Based on what I dug through:
- Anfernee Simons: Gotta be him. That contract is HUGE.
- Scoot Henderson: Right behind him, getting that early max investment.
- Deandre Ayton: Still pulls in the big bucks.
The true surprise wasn’t really who topped the list – kinda saw those coming. Nope. The real eye-opener was that chasm between the top few and almost everyone else. Seeing dudes you rely on making peanuts next to Simons’ giant paycheck? Wild. And those veteran minimums just sitting at the very bottom? Still trying to wrap my head around that.
Thinking about those reports about Yang Hansen generating insane money and fans… makes you wonder how that value stacks up against the actual dollars going to the players, right? Like, someone signed those contract numbers. Kinda humbling and surprising how the pay ladder looks when you actually stare at the list.
