NBA: Denver Nuggets mascot wage is £350,000 more than WNBA's highest earners

The topic of athletes’ wages is a hot talking point within sport, but it’s not very often people wonder what kind of salary a mascot earns.

A report over the weekend revealed the top five highest earning NBA mascots and it was certainly an eye opener for many.

At the top of the list is Denver Nuggets’ Rocky the Mountain Lion, who earns an eye-watering $625,000 (£552,000) per year. This is apparently in excess of ten times more than the average mascot wage, which is $60,000 (£53,000), according to Bleacher Report.

Behind Rocky is Harry the Hawk of Atlanta Hawks, who earns $600,000 (£529,000), while the Chicago Bulls’ mascot Benny takes home $400,000 (£353,000) each year.

An even bigger jaw-dropper was taking into consideration how much the people behind the costumes earn in comparison to elite level basketball players competing in the WNBA.

Rocky the Mountain Lion’s handsome sum is a staggering amount higher than even the best paid WNBA stars currently competing.

Rocky the Mountain Lion earns more than 10 times the average pay for professional NBA mascots (around $60k).(h/t @SBJ) pic.twitter.com/IUodSByGgg

According to NBC Sports, the highest earning WNBA players are Seattle Storm duo Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart, and Phoenix Mercury’s Diana Taurasi.

The three earn a reported $228,000 (£200,000) per year, which is almost £400,000 less than the Denver Nuggets mascot.

Loyd is a two-time WNBA champion and earned the Rookie of the Year award during her maiden season with the Storm in 2015, when she was the first overall draft pick.

Representing Team USA, the 29-year-old won Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games and back-to-back World Cups in 2018 and 2022.

Stewart is one of the WNBA’s most recognised players, having