How Much Do NBA Mascots Make?
NBA fans have a common misconception that NBA mascots are only paid around $10 per hour. However, when we looked into NBA mascot salaries, we discovered that NBA mascots could earn up to $150,000 per year!
Before you quit your day job and pursue your NBA dream, there are a few things you should be aware of first. We’ll go over how to become an NBA mascot and why they make so much money.
Continue reading to find out if becoming an NBA mascot is right for you!
How Can You Become an NBA Mascot?
To begin with, NBA mascots are not required to have any special abilities. NBA mascot tryouts are very casual affairs in which you must simply be yourself. You’ll have to use your unique talents or abilities to entertain a panel of judges.
Some NBA teams may require a certain amount of college experience before hiring someone as a full-time official NBA mascot. This is, however, extremely rare!
It’s Simpler Than You Think!
So, if you’re considering becoming an NBA mascot, don’t worry too much about having unusual abilities such as dancing on stilts or juggling fire. Those abilities are unlikely to be useful in any case.
Since there is no “stilt dancing” or “fire juggling” in today’s NBA games, to become an NBA mascot, you must be outgoing, enthusiastic, and have a great personality!
Starting A Blog:
As an NBA fan, there are numerous ways for you to get involved with your local NBA team or even as a potential NBA mascot. For example, starting a basketball blog could help people learn more about what it’s like to be in the home crowd during games if they are pleased with what they see.
Maybe they’ll ask if you want to try out for their official squad one day. Just don’t give up after the first tryout; you might get a call back the next day!
Do You Need Training to Become an NBA Mascot?
The majority of NBA teams will train their official NBA mascots. Some NBA teams that are extremely particular may necessitate even more extensive research and practice time before they let you perform on the main stage at an NBA game!
Don’t worry if your team doesn’t do anything like this. Most NBA mascot training is informal, similar to tryouts. It’s mostly about figuring out what you can get away with.
In terms of NBA game behavior on the basketball court or rink, you’ll also need to learn how to interact positively with fans while providing plenty of entertainment!
The Alexander & Associates College:
The Alexander & Associates College of NBA Mascots provided the only formal training for becoming an NBA mascot that we found. This organization provides mascot training programs and workshops.
This unique program is designed to help NBA mascots improve their skills and aspire to be more than just entertainers. They want their NBA mascots to be able to network with fans as well as participate in community events!
Unofficial & Official Trainings:
As previously stated, most NBA teams provide formal or informal training for official NBA team mascots. and even unofficial ones, such as those who cheer on an NBA team from the stands.
You now understand the fundamentals of how NBA mascots are chosen. Let’s examine some specific NBA teams. We’ll go over why NBA mascots earn so much money in each case!
Highest Paid NBA Mascot
Denver Nuggets:
Rocky, the mountain lion mascot for the Denver Nuggets, earns $600,000 per year.
Nuggets of Denver Rocky, the NBA Mascot, has held his current position since 1993 and is paid a whopping 600,000 dollars per NBA season to entertain fans at home games! NBA mascots are extremely well compensated for their efforts, earning them one of the highest salaries in all of sports.
Not Just The Entertainers:
For example, NBA mascot Rocky could easily get a much better-paying job doing something completely different!
But instead, he chooses to remain the Denver Nuggets’ official NBA mascot, leaving us with no choice but to believe his NBA mascot salary is well worth it.
Of course, NBA mascots are more than just entertainers; they are also a part of the NBA community!
Consider an NBA team that views its official NBA mascot as more than just someone who dances around to get fans excited on game day.
Top NBA Team Mascots
Houston Rockets Clutch The Rocket Bear
Clutch The Rocket Bear’s annual salary is $250,000 USD. Each NBA season, the Houston Rockets could easily pay someone much more money (likely several times over).
Rather, the team hires a single main NBA dancer/entertainer for all events related to the entire organization, both inside and outside!
This means that, despite having ‘only’ half a million dollars in his bank account, NBA mascot Clutch is also the head of marketing for the entire NBA team (which makes up the other half a million dollars).
Atlanta’s Harry the Hawk
The Hawk, Harry The NBA Mascot, charges $500 per hour for appearances. This mascot of the Atlanta Hawks is another great example of how NBA mascots are more than just dancers and entertainers.
NBA mascot Harry the Hawk holds several positions, including head of community relations for all on- and off-court events!
This means that if NBA mascot Harry is involved in charity work or interacting with fans during NBA All-Star Weekend (or any other event), mascot Harry will be there working his tail feathers off!
Chicago Bull’s Benny the Bull
Benny the Chicago Bulls NBA Mascot The Bull is the most well-known NBA mascot in all professional sports, and it’s no surprise.
Benny, the NBA mascot who has been entertaining fans at Chicago Bulls home games since 1969, earns an estimated $200,000 per year!
That means he’s been making a lot of money for the past 47 years, making him not only one of the highest-paid NBA mascots but also one of the most iconic.
Why Do NBA Mascots Make So Much Money?
The reason NBA mascots are paid so much money is because of what they do outside of games. For example, the NBA mascot receives a slew of cool perks, such as attending private events and parties where he can mingle with celebrities or NBA players – something that no other employees are permitted to do!
There are several other reasons why NBA mascots earn significantly more than the average person, including extra pay from side jobs related specifically to their job as an official NBA mascot!
NBA mascots are treated as ‘celebrities,’ even if they don’t appear to be as well-known as NBA players – and their pay reflects this!
Conclusion
To summarize, NBA teams treat official NBA team mascots in a manner similar to how professional sports organizations compensate athletes for playing on game day.
The only difference is that NBA mascot salaries can reach half a million dollars per season, whereas NBA players make far more than any single NBA mascot could ever hope to make in a year or lifetime of full-time work!
We hope you enjoyed this article on NBA mascots and found the information useful. Training is often required for those who want to become NBA mascots, so keep that in mind!
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What did we expect vs. what we got. Is it maybe overrated/underrated?
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