The first basketball star to break the one‑million‑dollar barrier in professional salary was Moses Malone, who signed a five‑year, one‑million‑dollar contract with the Utah Stars of the ABA as an 18‑year‑old in 1974. That deal made him the first pro basketball player to reach the million‑dollar mark on a single contract, years before NBA salaries exploded into today’s mega‑deals. Sports historians and contemporary reports on Malone’s jump from high school to the ABA consistently describe that Utah Stars contract as a five‑year deal worth a total of one million dollars.
In the NBA itself, the first players to earn at least $1,000,000 in a single season were Moses Malone and Bill Walton, who both crossed that line in the 1979‑80 season as part of the new era of big‑money contracts. Salary retrospectives that track “first to hit each pay milestone” list Malone and Walton as the first NBA players to make $1 million or more in one season.
Quick answer: who was the first NBA player to make $1,000,000?
First to sign a million‑dollar pro basketball contract:
Moses Malone, five‑year, $1 million deal with the ABA’s Utah Stars in 1974 (about $200,000 per year).First to earn $1,000,000+ in a single NBA season:
Moses Malone and Bill Walton, both at the $1M‑plus level in the 1979‑80 NBA season, according to modern salary histories that track first players to each salary tier.
So if someone asks, “Who was the first NBA player to make a million dollars?” the most accurate answer is:
Moses Malone was the first pro basketball player with a million‑dollar contract, and he — along with Bill Walton — became one of the first NBA players to earn at least $1,000,000 in a single season by 1979‑80.
Moses Malone’s $1,000,000 leap: straight from high school
Jumping to the ABA instead of college
In 1974, Moses Malone skipped college and signed directly with the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association. Contemporary accounts and later historical summaries note that Malone’s first pro contract was:
Five years long
Worth a total of $1,000,000
Signed when he was only 18 years old
At that time, a million dollars across five years was an eye‑popping number. Even Malone himself later said that figure was so huge to him that he couldn’t wrap his mind around turning it down.
Why that contract was such a big deal
In the early 1970s:
Most NBA veterans were making far under $200,000 per year, and many needed off‑season jobs just to stay comfortable.
A multi‑year, million‑dollar contract for a teenager who hadn’t played a single minute of college basketball was unheard of.
That deal didn’t just change Malone’s life; it changed how agents, owners, and other players thought about leverage and potential earnings. Writers who look back at that era (and even player advocacy pieces) often point to Malone’s Utah deal as a turning point in contract negotiations.
From ABA pioneer to NBA million‑dollar man
ABA merger and Moses Malone’s rise
After his early seasons in the ABA (Utah Stars, then Spirits of St. Louis), Malone moved into the NBA and became one of the most dominant big men of his time:
3× NBA MVP
1× NBA champion and Finals MVP (1983)
6× rebounding champion
By the late 1970s, his performance justified much bigger contracts, and that’s where the $1,000,000‑per‑season milestone in the NBA comes in.
First million‑dollar NBA seasons: Malone and Walton
Salary history features that rank the first NBA players to hit certain yearly pay levels list the following for the million‑dollar mark:
Moses Malone — one of the first players to reach $1,000,000+ in a season during the 1979‑80 campaign.
Bill Walton — likewise credited with being the other player at or above the million‑dollar salary level in that same season.
From that point forward, million‑dollar seasons slowly became less rare for elite stars, but in 1979‑80, these two big men were at the cutting edge of player pay.
How big was a million dollars back then?
It’s easy to shrug at $1 million now, when modern superstars sign deals that pay $50 million or more per season. But in basketball’s late‑1970s landscape, a million‑dollar contract was enormous:
The league itself was much smaller in revenue and popularity.
National TV money and global marketing were still in their early stages.
Many players in the 1960s and early ’70s worked summer jobs or ran camps to make ends meet, because their playing salaries alone weren’t enough.
When Moses Malone and Bill Walton crossed the million‑dollar line, it sent a message:
Elite players could demand salaries far above the “regular star” level.
Owners and front offices were willing to pay to secure MVP‑caliber talent.
The market for top big men was heating up faster than ever.
Timeline of key NBA salary milestones
To understand where the first million‑dollar seasons sit in history, it helps to look at a simple progression compiled from NBA salary retrospectives and contract history breakdowns:
| Salary milestone (per season) | First player(s) credited with it | Approx. season | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15,000 | Early pioneers like George Mikan | 1950s | Top star pay in early NBA days was only a bit above average income. |
| $100,000 | Wilt Chamberlain and peers | 1960s | Chamberlain pushed salaries up with record‑setting contracts. |
| $1,000,000 | Moses Malone & Bill Walton | 1979‑80 | First NBA seasons at or above $1 million salary level. |
| $10,000,000 | Magic Johnson | 1995 | First to cross $10M in a season, as listed in modern salary histories. |
| $20,000,000 | Michael Jordan | 1997 | Jordan shattered previous pay norms with over $30M in 1997–98. |
| $40,000,000+ | Stephen Curry | 2020 | First player to exceed $40M in one NBA season. |
Why Moses Malone’s million mattered beyond the money
The first million wasn’t just about a number. It:
Validated the ABA jump: Malone’s move from high school to a million‑dollar ABA contract proved that bypassing college could be financially powerful, paving the way for later high‑school‑to‑pro stars.
Raised expectations: Once one player and one team set that bar, other stars and their agents had a new benchmark for negotiations.
Helped fuel future mega‑contracts: By the time New York Times reports were covering Malone’s 1982 offer sheet with the 76ers — valued at around $15 million over six years, including an annual base salary of $1.6 million and bonuses — it was clear that top centers had completely changed the financial structure of the league.
Moses himself famously framed his value simply: dominate the glass, anchor the defense, and “Fo’ fo’ fo’” your way through the playoffs. Owners knew that kind of production moved tickets and won championships — and adjusted the pay scale accordingly.
Where does Wilt Chamberlain fit into the story?
You will sometimes see people online say Wilt Chamberlain was “the first million‑dollar player.” That claim usually refers to:
Either a total career earnings milestone,
Or a reported long‑term contract estimated or promoted to be worth around a million dollars over many years.
However, when historians and salary researchers track specific, documented contract amounts and single‑season salaries, the first clearly verified million‑dollar pro contract is Moses Malone’s Utah Stars deal in 1974, and the first million‑dollar NBA seasons are shared by Moses Malone and Bill Walton in 1979‑80.
How this compares to modern NBA money
To put it in perspective:
Moses Malone’s $1 million across five years with the Utah Stars worked out to about $200,000 per year.
By 1982, his offer sheet with the 76ers already guaranteed around $1.6 million per year plus a $1 million bonus, with total compensation possibly exceeding $15 million over six seasons.
Today, top NBA stars routinely sign deals worth $50 million per season or more, and writers now talk about when the first $80+ million per year contract will arrive.
The growth is massive, but that first million‑dollar threshold — both on a contract and in a season — is a clear early anchor in the timeline.
FAQ: first NBA player to make $1,000,000
Who was the first NBA player to sign a million‑dollar contract?
Moses Malone was the first pro basketball player to sign a contract worth $1,000,000, when he agreed to a five‑year, $1 million deal with the ABA’s Utah Stars in 1974, straight out of high school.
Who was the first NBA player to earn $1,000,000 in a single season?
In the NBA, salary history features identify Moses Malone and Bill Walton as the first players to earn at least $1,000,000 in a single season, during the 1979‑80 season.
Was Wilt Chamberlain ever a million‑dollar player?
Wilt Chamberlain signed some of the largest contracts of the 1960s, sometimes promoted in the media as “record‑setting” or tied to million‑dollar totals over several years, and he helped push salaries upward for everyone. But the first clearly documented million‑dollar pro contract belongs to Moses Malone in 1974, with later sources specifically crediting Malone and Walton as the first million‑dollar per‑season players in the NBA.
Did the ABA help push NBA salaries higher?
Yes. The ABA–NBA rivalry in the ’60s and ’70s created competition for star talent. Signings like Malone’s million‑dollar ABA deal forced the established NBA to raise its offers to keep or attract top players, which helped accelerate the salary boom leading into the 1980s.
In short, the answer to “Who was the first NBA player to make $1,000,000?” is tightly linked to Moses Malone. He was the first to sign a million‑dollar pro basketball contract and one of the first to earn a million in a single NBA season, sharing that season milestone with Bill Walton. Their deals opened the door to the contract numbers that define today’s NBA.
Sam, a dedicated blogger, has immersed himself in the world of content creation for the past five years. His journey reflects a profound passion for storytelling and insightful commentary. Beyond the digital realm, Sam is a devoted NBA enthusiast, seamlessly blending his love for sports with his writing pursuits.