The Going Rate For 10+ RPG Players

Last night we took a look at what players who averaged 20 or more points per game last season are making, so let's shift the focus to rebounding, another sought-after skill. While rebounding doesn't have quite the same cachet as scoring, you can't score if you don't have the ball, and rebounding is one of the primary ways to take and keep possession. Only eight players grabbed 10 or more rebounds per game last season, and though they possess an elite skill, only three of them made more than $8MM. That changes thanks to Kevin Love's four-year maximum-salary extension, which kicks in this year, and Kris Humphries' new contract, but the top rebounders are still paid less than their scoring counterparts. In 2012/13, returning 20+ PPG scorers will make an average of $15,952,250, while players coming off 10+ RPG seasons will pull in an average of $12,339,276. 

Here's the list, with the players, teams, rebounds per game from 2011/12, their salaries for last year and this year. The last two columns tell you what they made and what they will make for each rebound on their averages.

Some observations:

• Kevin Love and Blake Griffin were the only players to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game last season, and both did so on their rookie deals.
• DeMarcus Cousins, for all his supposed petulance and immaturity, is a tremendous on-court value to the Kings. After this coming season, he'll have one more year on his rookie deal, at $4,916,974 in 2013/14, so Sacramento has a bargain for a while.
• Pau Gasol, at age 32, is the only player on the list older than 30. Only two of the 12 20+ PPG scorers are older than 30, suggesting that even though many of today's players are experiencing extended primes, elite performance is still reserved for the young.

Storytellers Contracts was used in the creation of this post.