Phoenix Suns (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
NBA Insider Yossi Gozlan recently revealed the staggering amount the Phoenix Suns might have to spend on payroll for the 2025–26 season in his recent post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“What’s even crazier is the Phoenix Suns 2025-26 payroll projection. Their payroll and tax are projected to exceed $500 million next season. That’s because starting next season, tax rates increase by an additional $1 after the third tax level.
Also, they’ll be entering the repeater tax, increasing their tax rates by an additional $2. You can see why many consider this upcoming season a make-or-break year for them.” Gozlan wrote in his recent post on X.
The Suns’ total payroll for the 2024-25 season is $216,718,576, with an estimated luxury tax of $171,345,576, totaling $379,139,199 for that season.
This places the Suns among the league’s top-spending clubs, showing owner Mat Ishbia’s commitment to large financial expenditures in the business.
The financial commitment for the 2025-2026 season is even more surprising, with an estimated total pay of $234,450,460. After implementing additional penalties for the luxury tax, the luxury tax alone will amount to $188,480,000.
This places the Suns in a historic financial zone, with salaries and luxury tax totaling $525,770,266.
Suns Set to Make Salary History with Second-Highest Total Payroll Ever
In another post, Gozlan mentioned that the Suns will have the second-highest total salary in history going into the current season. They are expected to have a luxury tax bill of about $379 million, which is just behind the Golden State Warriors’ $384 million from the previous season.
“Phoenix Suns payroll projection if Royce O’Neale’s four-year, $44 million deal starts as low as $9.8 million: Payroll: $216.7 million Luxury tax penalty: $162.4 million $379 million roster would be second most expensive of all time behind last year’s Warriors ($384 million).” Gozlan wrote.
According to a recent statement by the owner of the Suns, Matt Ishbia, the Suns have made the final decision on their star player, Kevin Durant, amid trade rumors.
