Rob Pelinka Salary: How Much Is The Lakers GM Earning?

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka’s salary is around $5 million per year. Is he earning more now as a GM than when he was a player agent?

Pelinka earned his stripes as a player agent before becoming a GM and getting promoted to vice president of basketball operations. According to Forbes, Pelinka represented All-Stars Kobe Bryant, Eric Gordon and James Harden.

As a player agent, his earnings depended on the contract of his clients; the bigger they were, the higher his commission. Other players who became his clients were Derrick Williams, Dion Waiters, Andre Drummond, Kevin Durant and Carlos Boozer.

Experts see his ties with Bryant as one of the factors that contributed to his appointment as general manager of the Lakers. But Pelinka deserves credit for transforming the roster of one of the most storied franchises in the league. He engineered the overhaul together with Magic Johnson, who previously occupied the position of VP for basketball operations until he resigned in 2019.

Pelinka earned $13.4 million in commissions as a player agent in 2016. That is bigger than the deal he signed as general manager of the Lakers, which is around $20 million for four years. The deal expectedly became better after he was promoted to VP for basketball operations for the Lakers and signed a contract extension earlier this year.

Although details of the contract were not revealed, fans see him getting rewarded for his job managing the team and getting the players needed to win a championship. All the moves proved successful in the end as the Lakers ended the season with their 17th championship.

The Lakers basically traded the future to win now. They gave away Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans to get big man Anthony Davis in the offseason.

The 50-year-old had a stellar high school and collegiate career. The former Lake Forest High School star won the 1993 NCAA Male Walter Byers Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was also instrumental in helping the University of Michigan compete in three Final Four appearances during his time, per Celebrity Net Worth.

The next challenge for Pelinka is getting the roster ready for next season, which means letting go of underwhelming players for veterans who would sign for basic salary. The next season will be tough for the Lakers as there is the healthy Golden State Warriors and the loaded Brooklyn Nets. But there is no man better than Pelinka to get the job done for L.A.