Welcome to New York, where even an $18 million NBA contract doesn’t guarantee a dream home. For Keon Ellis, the biggest adjustment after joining the Nets isn’t about the team, but finding enough living space. The newly signed guard quickly discovered the reality many New Yorkers already know. 

In one of the world’s most expensive cities, every extra square foot is a luxury.

“Oh, my god! Trying to find a house- it’s tough,” Ellis said, speaking to Erik Slater during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.  

“I have to sacrifice something, some space, the prices; it’s a lot. But I’m definitely excited to walk around the city and hit different spots and all the restaurants. I hear there’s a lot of good food and a lot of things to do. So I’m definitely excited to see about that, but I’ll definitely be losing some square footage.”

The comments marked another milestone in Ellis’ inspiring NBA journey.

After going undrafted in 2022, Ellis earned a two-way contract with the Kings. His first paycheck sat around $500,000 before climbing to $1 million and then $2 million in the following seasons.

This summer changed everything. The Nets rewarded him with a two-year, $18 million contract, skyrocketing his annual salary to $9 million.

Ironically, the financial leap came with a lifestyle compromise. 

Sacramento may cost more than the average American city, but it still offers NBA players spacious suburban homes and significantly more space. Bigger properties remain attainable.

Additionally, Keon Ellis’s brief stay in Cleveland also painted a similar picture. But New York City flips the equation.

The city’s housing market quickly absorbs much of his pay hike. NBA players also pay taxes in every state where they play, but their home base carries the biggest burden. The New York State tax and NYC’s resident income tax take out a significant portion of his salary.

While a $9 million annual salary in New York sounds like unlimited wealth, the city’s 14.77% combined state and city tax rate immediately strips over a million dollars from Ellis’ take-home pay compared to Ohio’s flat 3.123%.

Sometimes, these factors influence where NBA players from NYC choose to live.

For example, Mikal Bridges settled into a luxury duplex loft in Tribeca instead of searching for a massive suburban property.

Many Nets players may choose neighborhoods such as Dumbo, Fort Greene, and Downtown Brooklyn to minimize travel to the team’s practice facility.

The Knicks players, on the other hand, often make a different calculation. They live in the affluent Westchester County suburbs, as their practice facility is situated in Tarrytown, New York, about 45 minutes north of the city. 

Keon Ellis, however, already seems ready to embrace the trade-off. 

While he admitted that New York will cost him square footage, he also pointed to everything the city offers outside his front door: world-class restaurants, walkable neighborhoods, and a vast array of attractions.

The newest Brooklyn Nets guard may have to sacrifice space, but New York also opens the door to one of the NBA’s most vibrant cities as he begins the next chapter of his career.