"CBA agreements got sticky": Carmelo Anthony claims his generation's fight led to $300M contract in today's NBA

Carmelo Anthony retired as one of the best NBA players of all time. Even though he never won a championship, he went down as an elite two-way player and he was unstoppable offensively.

His career lasted for 19 years (2003-2022) and he was part of the league's transformation into a megabusiness, not only basketball-wise but money-wise.

Speaking with Kevin Hart during an episode of Gold Minds, Anthony shared his thoughts on how the NBA has changed as a business, which is evident from the massive contracts that megastars sign these days.

Under the new CBA and the increase in salary cap, players are eligible for very lucrative deals and Carmelo Anthony believes that the players of his era had a lot to do with that evolution.

"The game has changed. The game of basketball (has changed). I was able to see from the Players Union. It wasn't a business. We had to figure that out. We had to get the big guns...We had to figure that out with the owners, how we work together, how do we invest together, how do we grow the game of basketball together," Carmelo Anthony told Hart.

"The money now is an indication of what we were fighting for for 15 years. We were fighting. Them CBA agreements got sticky...so we tried to figure that out with the owners, to change it. Fast forward to now, this is an indication of what we were trying to do 10-15 years ago and fighting for that."

Carmelo Anthony's career earnings show how CBA has changed the game financially lately

Carmelo Anthony was a megastar in the NBA in the early 2000s and 2010s. However, his career earnings were not that impressive if we compare them to today's salaries and the deals that superstars will be eligible for in the coming years.

In his 19 years in the league, Anthony earned a total of $262 million. Almost half of them came when he signed a max contract extension with the New York Knicks, back in 2014. The contract was for five years and a total of $129 million.

One can understand how things have changed if they take a look at today's contracts.

For instance, Jaylen Brown agreed to a record five-year, $304 million deal with the Boston Celtics, while Jaren Jackson Jr., the reigning NBA DPOY, will become eligible for a five-year max deal worth $318 million if he repeats as DPOY.

Luka Doncic could become the first player in league history to agree to an annual salary of more than $70 million. But for this to happen, the salary cap should increase by 10 percent every year until 2026, which is feasible under the new CBA.

If that happens, he will be able to sign for five years and $367.5 million with the Mavs.

These numbers show how the game has changed over the years financially and how things have evolved since the 2011 lockout and the CBA that teams and Players Union agreed on during that time.

As the NBA continues to grow as a global brand with a constant increase in income, it doesn't come as a surprise that players become eligible for such lucrative deals. And this is something that Carmelo Anthony and other megastars of his era have to take credit for.