Dylan Harper set to make $21M more in rookie deal than dad Ron Harper’s entire NBA career earnings

Dylan Harper was picked second by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2025 NBA Draft, earning the former Rutgers combo guard a lucrative contract worth $56 million over four years.

Dylan's dad Ron Harper was a 15-year NBA veteran and won five championships in the 1990s but his career earnings will soon be eclipsed by son Dylan in just a few years. According to Spotrac, Harper made $34,935,000 from four teams during his playing career. At the end of the 2028 season, Dylan Harper will have made $21,065,000 more than Ron when he will be eligible for his first max deal after his rookie contract.

Adjusted for inflation to 2025, Ron Harper's career earnings are approximately $73.4 million, which is a little bit higher than Dylan's earnings from his rookie scale contract. This disparity underscores the skyrocketing salaries in today’s NBA, driven by lucrative TV deals and global market growth.

About the author

Amlan Sanyal is a basketball writer at Sportskeeda with more than two years of experience. Amlan has a soft spot for the lovable loser, and years of supporting Leeds Utd, the Seattle Mariners and San Antonio Spurs have made him realize that there's more to sport than just championships.

Amlan started falling for basketball after watching the San Antonio Spurs in 2012 and 2013. He watched as a collective of veteran legends, underrated misfits and a young defensive stud extended the Spurs' era of dominance with a team-oriented style, reminiscent of the aesthetic brilliance of 2011 FC Barcelona.

Amlan has supported the Spurs ever since, even after enduring the heartbreaks of Ray Allen's corner three and several years in the wilderness post-Kawhi Leonard. He hopes Victor Wembanyama will become the face of the league as Pop rides off into the sunset.

When not working, Amlan is a keen quizzer and a podcast buff and can usually be found reading books, watching movies or listening to history podcasts.

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Edited by Amlan Sanyal