PROSPECT CENTRAL: NBA-NFL-NHL-MLB: Ranking 25+ Years No.1 Draft Picks

NBA-NFL-NHL-MLB: 1999-2024 No.1 Draft Picks

How can someone rank former No.1 Draft picks of the four major sports leagues (NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB) in North America? By following the money of course; and holy $h*t there's a lot of money! 💰 Now before I begin, let me say you should never count another man's pockets, mainly because it's depressing af (lol). For instance, I was recently feeling pretty good about myself because I own a few bitcoins that I purchased over a decade ago and now I feel...well...I feel poor to be quite honest (lol). But I suppose professional athletes bank accounts are public knowledge, so might as well see how all the former No.1 draft picks in all four leagues have stacked up against each other over the last 26-years.

LeBron James: 2003 NBA Draft

The players are ranked solely by how much money they've earned to date, as well as future earnings they plan to make from their current contracts. No off-field money earned i.e. endorsements, was taken into consideration. Drumroll please; adding up all the money of all 104 former No.1 Draft picks, we get a grand total of over $14 billion earned! A pretty impressive number if I do say so myself, but if ALL these players were just ONE person, they'd only be ranked as the 160th richest person in the world, and just $423 billion short of the richest person in the world's net worth; Elon Musk. Side note; Elon Musk's on track to become the world's first trillionaire by the year 2027!

There's certainly levels to everything, and money's no different. So while we might be shocked by how much bread some of these players have stacked over their career's, the owner's of the franchises that sign their checks, are on another level entirely. To put it into perspective real quick, here are the four richest owner's from the four leagues. The richest owner in all of sports and the NBA; Steve Ballmer L.A. Clippers ($123B); NFL Rob Walton Denver Broncos ($77B); NHL David Thompson Winnipeg Jets ($66B); and MLB Steve Cohen New York Mets ($21B). Rounding out the bottom, the "poorest" owner in all of sports is Cincinnati Red's owner Robert Castellini with a net worth of only $400 million. I know I speak for everyone when I say this; What a loser!!! (lol)

Obviously ranking all the players from different leagues by how much money they've earned doesn't exactly tell the whole story of who the best former No.1 draft picks were. For starters, there are players who literally still have their whole careers in front of them, so they're bound to move up in the rankings. For instance, Victor Wembanyama is currently ranked 73rd, but by the time his illustrious career is over he should easily be Top 5 in most money earned by former No.1 draft picks.

Matthew Stafford: 2009 NFL Draft

Another reason why money isn't always the best way to judge success; players as a whole make more money now than in the past and it only increases every year, so older draft picks obviously didn't have the same earning potential as their younger counterparts. A perfect example is Michael Jordan. Now even though he wasn't a No.1 draft pick, I always find it hilarious that MJ only made $94 million from his NBA contract, and over 66% of that was from his final 2 seasons with the Bulls! Take that into consideration when you're looking at some of these crazy numbers. Finally, different sport's leagues pay their players differently, so the money earned compared to how good a player is can be misleading at times. For the most part though, water always finds its level, so if you're a good/great player you'll eventually get paid accordingly. Unless of course you play in the NHL! 🏒

Sidney Crosby & Alex Ovechkin (who's on the verge of becoming the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer btw) are easily two of the greatest hockey players of all-time, yet they don't even crack the Top 30 of money earned by former No.1 draft picks. I mean NBA's Deandre Ayton is already one spot ahead of both players, and in no world is Ayton a better basketball player than Crosby & Ovechkin are hockey players. Another glaring example of hockey players being underpaid compared to the other 3 sports is the juxtaposition of Connor McDavid's career earnings compared to NBA's Karl Anthony-Towns. McDavid is arguably the best hockey player in the world right now and while Karl Anthony-Towns is definitely an All-Star quality player in his own right, he's probably not even Top 10 in the NBA. Both players were drafted No.1 into their respective leagues in 2015, yet Karl Anthony-Towns is already Top 5 in money earned with roughly $300 million more than McDavid, who doesn't even crack the Top 50.

More observations from the 4 different leagues & No.1 Picks:

Sidney Crosby: 2005 NHL Draft

NHL

- The 26 former NHL No.1 Draft picks contributed the least amount of money of the 4-major North American sport's leagues with a little over $2 billon earned.

- 22 of the 26 former NHL No.1 Draft picks still play professional hockey in the NHL, which is by far and away the most of any of the 4-leagues (1 player 2012 draft pick Nail Yakupov plays overseas). NHL players are tougher than a coffin nail and truly love playing hockey. It's not just a game to them, it's a way of life.

- NHL No.1 Draft picks seem to have the least amount of bust potential of the 4-major North American sport's leagues. They might not have the highest ceiling in terms of becoming stars and making the most money, but they probably have the highest floor and will earn their money by playing in the NHL longer than their counterparts play in their respective leagues. NHL owner's certainly get their money's worth from their players.

- Last but not least; just as it's basically a perquisite you have to be very tall to be selected No.1 overall in the NBA Draft, I feel in order to be the No.1 Draft pick in the NHL, besides being an outstanding hockey player obviously, you have to have impeccable hair! 👱

Bryce Harper: 2010 MLB Draft

MLB

- The 26 former MLB No.1 Draft picks contributed the 2nd least amount of money of the 4-major North American sport's leagues with almost $3 billion earned.

- 13 of the 26 former MLB No.1 Draft picks still play professional baseball today. This is about the same amount as the NBA & NFL. There's no salary cap in MLB however, so once a player shows his worth his earning potential is essentially unlimited. For instance, 9 out of the Top 10 biggest contracts in North American sports are MLB players; led by NY Mets Juan Soto (15-yrs $765 Million) & LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani (10-yrs $700 Million). These players weren't drafted No.1 overall, but the point still stands; MLB might not have the most stars, but they have the highest paid ones.

- MLB No.1 Draft picks seem to have the most amount of bust potential of the 4-major North American sport's leagues. People say the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a MLB fastball, and that certainly seems to be the case. If a young player does show promise however, it usually takes about half-a-decade or more before they really hit pay dirt and are able to command enormous contracts, if their play dictates that of course. Basically MLB players have one shot at one really nice contract.

- Of the Top 17 highest paid former No.1 Draft picks, only one player is currently retired; MLB's Washington National's ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg (excluding NBA's John Wall who technically hasn't retired yet, but no teams are calling lol). Stephen Strasburg will earn more than $130 Million over these next 5-years while he sits on his couch, good enough for him to crack the Top 10. Also, shoutout 1999 MLB No.1 pick Josh Hamilton. His career earnings still sitting strong in the Top 40, despite being drafted over a quarter century ago, plus fighting drug problems throughout his 20's, only to sign his mega deal in his 30's!

Matthew Stafford: 2009 NFL Draft

NFL

- The 26 former NFL No.1 Draft picks contributed the 2nd most amount of money of the 4-major North American sport's leagues with over $4 billion earned.

- 12 of the 26 former No.1 NFL Draft picks still play professional football today, which is the least amount of the 4-major North American sport's leagues. While the NFL certainly has its share of former No.1 draft picks who became busts, I still feel the MLB Draft is way more of a crap shoot when it comes to selecting their No.1 overall draft picks. Playing professional football is physically grueling, as is evident by NFL players having the shortest playing career of the 4-major North American sport's leagues at only 3.3 years on average.

- The best thing to be in all of sports (besides an "average" NBA star), has to be an "average" NFL quarterback. If somehow you're drafted into the NFL as a QB and you aren't a complete inept oaf, you're gonna make bank whether you deserve to or not. While the NBA probably has the most former No.1 Draft picks with crazy outlandish contracts that make you question your own existence, the NFL can currently take claim to the 2 worst contracts of former No.1 Draft picks imo. I like both these QB's btw, but in no way, shape, or form does Kyler Murray's ($298 Million) & Trevor Lawrence's ($338 Million) play dictate their career earnings. I get it, quarterbacks are hard to find, but those numbers make me want to throw up. I remember watching Trevor Lawrence play football in 8th grade and thinking to myself he was actually going to be a generational talent, not just paid like one.

- The last thing about the NFL and their former No.1 Draft picks that I found interesting was the fact that two players traded for each other (trades don't happen often in the NFL) are both sitting pretty in the Top 5. Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff & LA Rams QB Matthew Stafford have quietly stacked more paper than Dunder Mifflin. I knew both those players made bank, but seeing their career earnings still caught me off guard. Also, the fact QB Alex Smith (2005) cracked the Top 25 with over $200 Million in career earnings, made my insides hurt. 😢

LeBron James: 2003 NBA Draft

NBA

- The 26 former NBA No.1 Draft picks contributed the most amount of money of the 4-major North American sport's leagues with over $5 billion earned. NBA No.1 Draft picks get drafted young, get paid bank out the gate regardless of how good they are, then they have a chance for at least 2-3 more max contracts if they're deserving (and sometimes even if they aren't). Anthony Edwards (2020) & Cade Cunningham (2021) both already cracking the Top 15 of career earnings despite not even playing in the NBA half-a-decade is a perfect example of former No.1 NBA Draft picks making life changing money off the rip.

- 14 of the 26 former No.1 NBA Draft picks still play in the league today (2017 No.1 Draft pick Markelle Fultz is currently unsigned) but that could certainly change given his age, and even if it doesn't he's already earned enough bread to crack the Top 60. Besides Anthony Bennett (2013) & Greg Oden (2007), there really haven't been too many busts of former No.1 NBA Draft picks over these last 26-years. Obviously Kwame Brown (2001) was a bust, but he still cracked the Top 70. The other possible bust besides Markelle Fultz is Andrea Bargnani (2006), but once again his career was successful enough to be just outside the Top 60 of former No.1 Draft picks career earnings.

- I'm not saying a lot of former No.1 NBA Draft picks don't deserve the money they've earned, but I'm also not saying they do. Deandre Ayton (2018), Ben Simmons (2016), Zion Williamson (2019), Andrew Wiggins (2014), John Wall (2010), etc, etc. Now none of these players are busts, but when you see their career earnings as opposed to the players they are, it certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

- Last observation of former No.1 NBA Draft picks that caught me off guard; 1999 No.1 pick Elton Brand still sitting strong in the Top 35, and he's even one spot ahead of former MVP Derrick Rose (2008). This is quite impressive considering Elton was drafted before Zion Williamson was even born. And the last observation that made me raise my eyebrow and I can't believe I'm about to say this, but LeBron James might actually be underpaid, especially when you compare his career to that of his peers. 🐐

Cooper Flagg: 2025 NBA Draft

So there you go. As if you didn't know already, it certainly pays very well to be a pro athlete, regardless of the sport you play and regardless if you're a No.1 overall draft pick or not. Plus with NIL (name, image, and likeness) running rampant, the earning potential of athletes is greater than ever.

For instance, these 5 players could have already potentially earned more money than about 10-20 former No.1 Draft picks; 2025 & 2026 NFL potential No.1 picks Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and Arch Manning; and 2025 & 2026 NBA potential No.1 picks Cooper Flagg & A.J. Dybantsa; plus lets not forget, there are a slew of other prospects all the way down to middle school kids who are already cashing in on their athletic prowess.

While I'll never criticize someone for making money, for some young players it can be a slippery slope. Cashing in on your name in the short term, could very easily cause one to lose focus on their long term goals, thus stunting their true earning potential. Becoming a professional athlete isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. Focus on becoming the best version of yourself and the cash will follow one way or another.

I hate to focus so much on money, mainly for the fact it gives the wrong impression to young up-and-coming athletes. They should play the game first-and-foremost for the love, as opposed to using money as motivation. Money fades, love is everlasting. Don't put the cart before the horse. Remember, you have to crawl before you walk and if you just focus on money, you'll never truly reach your full earning potential as an athlete. With that being said, here are the rankings of the Top 104 former No.1 overall Draft picks of the past 26-years. (*) Indicates player is still active.