Nate Ament became the highest selected Tennessee basketball player in the NBA Draft in over 20 years Wednesday night when the Milwaukee Bucks selected Ament with the 13th pick in the 2026 draft.
Ament is the first lottery pick of the Rick Barnes era in Knoxville, passing Dalton Knecht (No. 17 pick in the 2024 draft) as the highest selected Vol.
How much money will Ament make in his rookie NBA contract? It won’t be certain until he signs the contract, but we know a potential scale. Diving into it here.
More From RTI: VFL Nate Ament Lands Range of Grades After Selection by the Milwaukee Bucks
How NBA Rookie Contracts Work
First round draft picks sign four-year contracts. The first two years of the contract are guaranteed while teams have options to pick up a players contract for the third and fourth year.
Each slot in the first round has an amount assigned to it with teams able to sign their selection from anywhere between 80% and 120% of that value. For instance, if the slot value was $1 million then the player could sign for anywhere between $800,000 and $1.2 million.
What Is The Scale For Ament’s Contract?
The first-year slot value for Ament’s contract is $4,586,100 according to spotrac meaning his first-year deal will be between $3,668,880 and $5,503,320.
As the 13th pick in the draft, Ament will sign a contract with between $7,521,360 and $11,282,040 of guaranteed money.
If the Bucks pick up Ament’s third and fourth year option, the total contract will pay Ament between $17,324,221 and $25,986,332.
Milwaukee Is Entering A Rebuild
It was actually the Miami Heat who selected Ament with the 13th pick. However, the Bucks owned his draft rights after due to the blockbuster trade that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami.
Ament comes to the league with the long wiry frame that Antetokounmpo did and a need to add weight. He will likely play an abundance of minutes at the three and four-spot like the Greek Freak. That could lead to increased pressure on Ament, however, the Bucks are clearly entering a rebuild and are not in win now mode.
The former Tennessee standout also will not be alone. Milwaukee had two first round picks and selected Arizona’s Brayden Burries with the 10th pick in the draft.
Ament Was An All-SEC Wing At Tennessee
Ament was the highest ranked signee in the modern history of Tennessee basketball, arriving in Knoxville with high expectations and pressure.
The 6-foot-10 averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Ament shot 39.9% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range and 79% from the foul line.
The freshman got better over the course of the season and played better in SEC play than he did in non conference play. In 16 SEC games, Ament averaged 19 points and six rebounds per game. He scored 20-plus points in 11 games while scoring a career-high 29 points in wins over Alabama and Ole Miss as well as in a loss against Oklahoma.
A late season injury derailed Ament’s momentum, but the freshman returned to the court and the postseason and showed his toughness by playing while not fully healthy.
