Dylan Harper Will Make More From His Rookie Contract Than His Father Did During His Entire 15-Year Career

The NBA Draft is always an exciting time, as the next wave of stars enter the league. One of those players, Dylan Harper, is heading to San Antonio after the Spurs selected him with the No. 2 pick. The 6'6″ guard averaged nearly 20 points a game during his lone season at Rutgers, and he joins a Spurs team with another All-Star talent in Victor Wembanyama.

Harper also happens to be the son of Ron Harper, who spent 15 years in the NBA. The elder Harper played in over 1,000 games for his career, averaging 13.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.7 steals per contest. He also won five championships—three with the Chicago Bulls in 1996, 1997, and 1998, and two with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000 and 2001.

Harper now has TWO sons who are NBA players.

Ron Harper Jr. went undrafted during the 2022 season and is currently a member of the Detroit Pistons. Ron Jr. made $315,000 in the 2024/2025 season and will make $636,000 in the 2025/2026 season.

And then there's Dylan Harper. Dylan will enter the NBA with a contract that will earn him more in THREE seasons than his father earned during his entire 15-season NBA career!

Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

First-round rookie contracts are on a sliding scale. Teams can sign their picks for as much as 120% of the salary level at a particular selection, with the No. 1 pick eligible for the most money and the No. 30 pick eligible for the least. That 120% salary is for the first three years of the deal. In Harper's case, Year 4 has a 26.2% increase, and year 5 is a qualifying offer that's a 40.5% jump from the fourth-year salary.

Years three and four are team options, and most teams typically tend to re-sign players by the time that fourth year comes to a close (forgoing the qualifying offer in the fifth year in favor of another extension). So, let's just look at Harper's first four years, assuming he'll get 120% of the rookie salary scale for the second pick:

• Year 1: $12,370,320
• Year 2: $12,989,040
• Year 3: $13,607,760
• Year 4: $17,213,816

Add it all up and Dylan Harper will make $56,180,936 during his rookie contract. That salary is guaranteed, even if the Spurs happen to release him or trade him away.

Throughout his entire 15-year career, Ron Harper Sr. made $34,935,000. Adjusted for inflation, Harper Sr. does surpass his son by a little bit. But still. That's a pretty staggering example of how much contracts have ballooned in the modern NBA.

Next time the family goes out for dinner, Dylan can pick up the check.