Steven Adams just watched his financial future become a whole lot brighter.
The fourth-year big man from New Zealand signed a four-year contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder reportedly worth $100 million. That's approximately $139 million in New Zealand and $130 million in Australia.
Adams emerged as a core player for the Thunder with a strong postseason performance in 2015-16, and the team will rely on him to play an even bigger role this season. The extension allows the Thunder to lock up Adams through the 2020-21 season and keeps him from hitting the open market as a restricted free agent next summer.
This got us thinking about the top earners among Aussie and Kiwi athletes in American team sports. Here's the hierarchy, based on estimated earnings for the current season:
Andrew Bogut, Dallas Mavericks, NBA
$11 million US - $14.4 million AU - $15.4 million NZ
The former No. 1 overall draft pick from Melbourne turns 32 later this month, and he's in the final year of a three-year, $36 million pact he originally signed with Golden State. Bogut is the NBA's all-time leader in scoring and rebounding among Australian players. He eclipsed the $100 million (US) mark in career earnings in 2015-16 and was traded to Dallas during the offseason.
Matthew Dellavedova, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA
$9.6 million US - $12.5 million AU - $13.4 million NZ
Delly signed a four-year, $38 million pact with Milwaukee after winning the NBA championship with Cleveland last season. If the early results are any indication, he is on his way to establishing career highs in minutes, points and assists this season. The fourth-year pro from Maryborough, Victoria, is the career scoring leader at Saint Mary's College in California.
Aron Baynes, Detroit Pistons, NBA
$6.5 million US - $8.5 million AU - $9.1 million NZ
The 6-foot-10 big man, who was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, but grew up in Cairns, Queensland, is in the second season of a three-year, $20 million deal with Detroit. He began his career with three seasons in San Antonio, where he and Australian guard Patty Mills helped the Spurs win the 2014 NBA championship.
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers, NBA
$5.9 million US - $7.7 million AU - $8.2 million NZ
The rookie out of LSU has yet to make his NBA debut because of a foot injury, but Simmons will earn nearly $6 million this season after being drafted No. 1 overall by Philadelphia. Simmons, who grew up in Newcastle, New South Wales, is recovering from surgery and is expected to miss a few more months of action before taking the court for the 76ers.
Dante Exum, Utah Jazz, NBA
$3.9 million US - $5.1 million AU - $5.4 million NZ
The 6-foot-6 guard from Melbourne was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, and he's paid as such. Exum is back on the court for the Jazz this season after missing all of 2015-16 with a torn ACL. Utah recently exercised its team option to retain him next season for $5 million.
Patty Mills, San Antonio Spurs, NBA
$3.6 million US - $4.7 million AU - $5 million NZ
The 6-foot, 185-pound guard from Canberra preceded Dellavedova at Saint Mary's and was drafted in the second round by Portland in 2009. Mills joined the Spurs in 2011 and is now in the final season of a three-year, $13 million contract with San Antonio. Now playing in his eighth pro season, Mills trails only Bogut (11 seasons) and Luc Longley (10 seasons) in terms of NBA career longevity among Australians.
Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA
$3.1 million U.S. - $4.1 million AU - $4.4 million NZ
Until Adams' new deal kicks in next season, he will have to scrape by on this salary, based on the team option the Thunder picked up in October 2015. Adams, who grew up in Rotorua and Wellington, will be only 28 when his recently signed extension expires in 2021, at which point an even more lucrative payday is possible.
Brad Wing, New York Giants, NFL
$2.6 million US - $3.4 million AU - $3.6 million NZ
The third-year pro from Melbourne by way of LSU received a $2 million signing bonus from the Giants to go with a 2016 base salary of $600,000. That's pretty good scratch for booting around the pigskin.
Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz, NBA
$2.2 million US - $2.9 million AU - $3.1 million NZ
The 6-foot-8 forward from the Adelaide area is in his third season with the Jazz after two seasons with Barcelona and one with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Euroleague. Ingles and his wife, Renae, welcomed twins in July, just prior to his joining the Boomers in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics.
Adam Gotsis, Denver Broncos, NFL
$1.5 million US - $2 million AU - $2.1 million NZ
The 6-foot-4, 287-pound defensive tackle from Melbourne by way of Georgia Tech has four tackles so far this season for the first-place Broncos. As a second-round draft pick, he received a signing bonus in excess of $1 million to go with his rookie base salary of $450,000.
Lachlan Edwards, New York Jets, NFL
$525,000 US - $685,000 AU - $730,000 NZ
The rookie punter from Melbourne by way of Sam Houston State is another member of the new wave of Australian punters in the NFL and college football. If he remains on the Jets' active roster all season, he will earn his entire $450,000 base salary to go along with a signing bonus of approximately $75,000.
Liam Hendriks, Oakland Athletics, MLB
$520,000 US - $680,000 AU - $730,000 NZ
The 27-year-old, right-handed pitcher from Perth began the season as the only Aussie in the major leagues, but he was eventually joined by the three MLB players listed below. Hendriks has played six MLB seasons with Oakland, Toronto and Minnesota, and he posted a 3.76 ERA with 71 strikeouts and 14 walks in 64⅔ innings this season.
Paul Lasike, Chicago Bears, NFL
$450,000 US - $590,000 AU - $630,000 NZ
The 5-foot-11, 258-pound fullback from Auckland, New Zealand, made his NFL debut this season after spending 2015 on Chicago's practice squad. He recently returned to the practice squad -- sort of the NFL equivalent to flying standby -- after spending five weeks on the active roster. Even if he spends the remainder of the season on the practice squad, he will come close to earning his full base salary of $450,000.
Peter Moylan, Kansas City Royals, MLB
$390,000 US - $510,000 AU - $540,000 NZ
The 10-year veteran from Attadale, Western Australia, spent around 140 days on the Royals' roster this season, earning much of MLB's $507,500 minimum salary. Moylan posted a solid 3.43 ERA with 34 strikeouts and 16 walks in 50 games this year at age 37.
Warwick Saupold, Detroit Tigers, MLB
$190,000 US - $250,000 AU - $265,000 NZ
The Perth native was on the Tigers' active roster or disabled list for about 70 days this season, so this figure estimates a prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary -- not including what he earned during his time with Triple-A Toledo. The 26-year-old, right-handed pitcher opened his major league career with three consecutive scoreless appearances.
James Beresford, Minnesota Twins, MLB
$70,000 US - $90,000 AU - $100,000 NZ
The infielder from Melbourne was called up to the majors on Sept. 6 and remained with the Twins for the rest of the season. He earned nearly one month of pay at the MLB minimum rate, plus more than four months at Triple-A Rochester. He made his MLB debut on Sept. 10 and recorded his first career hit with a single off Cleveland right-hander Shawn Armstrong.
Several individual-sport athletes also cleared seven-figure earnings this year -- not including endorsements. Golf stars Lydia Ko ($2.5 million US) of New Zealand and Australians Jason Day ($8 million US) and Adam Scott ($6.5 million US) recorded handsome incomes this past season. In tennis, Nick Kyrgios ($1.8 million US) and Bernard Tomic ($1.2 million US) were the top Aussie earners.
Sources: ESPN Roster Management System database, ESPN.com, sports-reference.com, spotrac.com