Empty the Bench

The minimum an NBA rookie can make per year is $412,718—clearly not a salary to sneeze at. Superstars like Yao Ming make upwards of $12.5 million a season. But no matter where a player falls in the salary scale, every one of them is granted a per diem of $106 to cover meals, expenses, etc. Ridiculous, I know. The Rocky Mountain News published a nice article that reveals what some players do with that extra funny money, and between their stories and some of their quotes, the idea of a $106 per diem on top of an average NBA salary of $5.5 million seems even more odd. Other professional athletes are also awarded per diems, of course, but the NBA dishes out the most cash, per their collective-bargaining agreement.

Here’s some highlights, all taken from The Rocky Mountain News:

- Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby implies the per diem should be higher, despite the fact that he’ll bring in over $10 million for this season alone. “It’s a nice little benefit,” said Nuggets center Marcus Camby. “They take care of us. But in those fancy hotels, that per diem is probably enough for a breakfast.” Camby also pays off the team’s only rookie, Yakhouba Diawara, to do various things in exchange for his per diem money:

“Sometimes I give it to ‘Kouba,’ ” center Marcus Camby said of his per diem. “He doesn’t have the big contracts like a lot of us. I take care of him. I’ve bought him suits, PlayStation and an iPod.” For Camby’s generosity, Diawara sometimes carries bags and gets food for Camby. But it doesn’t sound like he’s overworked. “I just help him out, nothing too much,” Diawara said.

“There’s nothing over a $10 meal for ‘Kouba,’” said Jamal Sampson said. ” ‘Kouba’ will walk three miles. He’ll walk around the whole city just to save some money.”

Get with the program, Kouba! Money is for spending, not saving!

- New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets guard Devin Brown uses his per diem for a lot more. “DVDs, video games, batteries, headphones. Stuff like that,” Brown said.

- Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is making $12.5 million this season. When he was out for 2 1/2 months earlier this season because of a broken right leg, he was asked by a Houston Chronicle reporter why he went on a certain trip. Yao quipped it was so he could get the “road trip per diem.” Cute.

- Nuggets guard DerMarr Johnson puts his per diem to really good use. “Man, we gamble away that money right away on the plane,” said Nuggets guard DerMarr Johnson, referring to high-stakes card games. “We put it right into the gambling pot.”

So, how do you spend the per diem provided by your employer? For me, it’s all about disposable underwear. Man, those come in handy.

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