Playing for Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs not only provides a real opportunity to make it to the NBA, but it also helps make sure players stick around once they get there.
A recent post from College Basketball Report indicates Gonzaga had the third most NBA earnings among all college basketball programs this past year, with 13 former NBA Zags taking home a combined $174,275,925 dollars. That ranks a distant third behind Kentucky’s ridiculous $629M in earnings and Duke’s $379M.
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Gonzaga is on an island in third place, over $200M behind Duke but nearly $45M ahead of fourth-place Arizona, which comes in at $129.3M in earnings.
Rounding out the top ten are Kansas, Florida State, Villanova, Michigan State, Michigan, and Texas, with USC, UCLA, and Washington all in the top 20.
While many of the programs on this list are buoyed by one or two extremely high earners – including Pac-12 opponents Fresno State and San Diego State, who are effectively only on here because of Paul Georgia and Kawhi Leonard, respectively – Gonzaga has quite a few players earning big bucks while on their second, or third, NBA contract.
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The Zags are led by three-time All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis, who took home just north of $42 million last year with the Sacramento Kings. Sabonis is one of five Zags who earned over $18 million in the 2025-26 season, alongside Orlando‘s Jalen Suggs ($35M), LA’s Rui Hachimura ($18.2M), Indiana‘s Andrew Nembhard ($18.1M), and Chicago‘s Zach Collins ($18.1M).
Corey Kispert ($13.9M), Chet Holmgren ($13.7M), Kelly Olynyk ($13.4M), and Brandon Clarke ($12.5) were Gonzaga’s four other earners over $10M last season. Both Collins and Olynyk are set to hit free agency, where they are likely to earn significantly less next year, while Clarke’s tragic passing last month alters this data going forward as well.
Apr 25, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Corey Kispert (24). | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
However, Holmgren is due for a massive raise to up over $40M as his second contract kicks in, which will keep the Zags in the conversation among the highest-earning programs in college basketball.
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Julian Strawther ($2.67M) is due for a raise up to $4.8M if Denver keeps him around, while Gonzaga’s three lower earners – Drew Timme, Ryan Nembhard, and Malachi Smith – could all see bigger paydays next year if they are retained by LA, Dallas, and Brooklyn, respectively.
How do they do it?
While no one is touching Kentucky or Duke anytime soon, Gonzaga’s ability to build this kind of earning potential is staggering when considering how few of these players were considered obvious NBA locks when they first arrived in Spokane.
Holmgren and Suggs were 5-star, clear-cut one-and-done candidates, but Collins was the only other highly rated recruit when he made it to Gonzaga.
Nov 4, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7). | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Kispert, Strawther, and Timme were all lower-ranked high school recruits, while Sabonis, Hachimura, and Olynyk joined Gonzaga from the international ranks. The Nembhard’s were both highly regarded transfers who elevated their game at Gonzaga, while Clarke and Smith joined GU from mid-major programs and put themselves on the NBA radar from there.
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Gonzaga’s ability to develop players into NBA talent from all over the globe is what has made this program such a dynamic powerhouse in the college basketball space – and is why they remain so appealing to recruits and international stars year in and year out.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/gonzaga as Gonzaga ranks among college basketball’s biggest NBA money-makers.
