For every industry to be thriving, someone has to do the dirty work. For a worldwide, billion-dollar industry like the NBA to flourish, it has to be a product of everyone working together toward the same goal. While the focus is always on the players, other people like janitors and water boys keep the ball rolling.

Not everyone would think of pursuing a career as a janitor but if you are already thinking of doing that for a living, NBA seems like a great place for it. You would be part of a huge business, having access to exciting events on daily basis and having a chance to look behind the closed doors and now and then come up with a good story to tell.

As big as the NBA business is, it is probably not easy to be involved in anything that has to do with such a giant organization. Working for a specific team or the NBA as an organization demands high proficiency in anything that you do, so being a janitor may not be as easy as you think.

Whether you are a young kid trying to put some pocket money aside while working on his or hers education or saving for investing in building their own dream or you are a parent who is just trying to provide for his or her family, working for an NBA team can be considered as a decent job.

So we all know that NBA is one of the highest paying organizations in the entire world, so does that mean the janitors are also well paid? Many people who actually follow the NBA often ask themselves, how much do NBA janitors make on average, and in this article, we will give an answer to that.

Before delving into this subject, it is essential to know that honest living is always something to be proud of. Some may look down upon janitors, but they are earning an honest wage, which is all that matters. What’s more, if you’re lucky enough to be a janitor or mop boy in the NBA, then the salary is not really so bad, more than enough to be in the middle class in the United States.

So as long as you are paid well for your job, everything seems just fine, right?

How to Become an NBA Janitor? Qualifications & Requirements

There really is no definite answer to this question. Like any other job, you will need to have a combination of persistence and luck. “Persistence” since you may have to research and contact a specific organization’s Human Resources department. How will you do that?

Again, you need to be persistent and relentless. LinkedIn is an excellent place to start. You may search the specific company and enter keywords such as “Human Resources,” “Talent Acquisition,” or “Recruiter,” and you may stumble upon the person/s in charge. Here and there, there are adverts and job posts for many different positions within an NBA organization. Specific education or training is not required for this job even though past experience is always welcomed.

Another good thing about it is that you can always apply for a job within an NBA organization and your resume will get to the human resource base of the organization and you may be contacted for similar full-time or part-time positions, including the one for janitor.

Making Google your friend is always a good idea. Just enter the job title in the search engine and try your luck. Positions like this one may be open during the whole year, some of them are only for the duration of the season but there are also part-time jobs that can be a good start toward a permanent and stable position within an NBA organization.

If you can’t find their emails on LinkedIn, you can directly search for them on Goole. When all of these ways don’t let you through, you can try NBA.com’s career page and see what goes. Although it could be different from organization to organization, there are also rumors that most hire in-house. That means you can’t get any of these posts unless you have connections inside. Some organizations allow recommendations from their inside guys, although that’s not an absolute requirement. So if you know somebody who already works for an NBA organization or you know a guy who knows a guy, that may be your way to finding your place in the league.

With that being said, without experience in the field and education, likely, you won’t be considered for one of the NBA floor cleaner jobs. To stand out from the hundreds of applications, you need to make an impression regarding your employment and educational background.

How much do NBA janitors make?

Again, NBA janitor salary may vary depending on the organization and the state. Massachusetts, Washington, and New York have the highest mean salary for janitors, over $36.000 annually, followed by Connecticut and the District of Columbia.

But since this is the NBA, you will have to expect that janitor salaries exceed the mean wage of the usual janitorial services. Again, there isn’t any concrete data about NBA janitors’ salaries, but we can ascertain it using other related information.

For example, a water boy of the Boston Celtics is $58,000 annually on average. Some newly-hired water boys are paid $100 per game. In comparison, the minimum average median salary of a middle-class income family is $51,000. Of course, the abilities and experience of an individual are the basis of such a salary, as basketball players are paid differently based on their skill set.

Still, it looks like the average annual salary of a janitor in the NBA is $60,000 to $90,000. Some teams pay their janitors at an hourly rate, but the more experienced ones are paid more.

Just like any other job, if you prove yourself in your position, the job may be your long-term. Not every job out there offers you a chance to have a sneak peek into an NBA team. You may have a chance to meet some of the players or coaches on the teams and have contact with them on daily basis. There are a lot of players who have to befriend team staff including a janitor. Of course, after a period of time, you will also develop a feeling that you belong to some organization and you can actually feel like part of the team. As a matter of fact, that is true. Not that you will be offered a contract to play on the team but by doing the job you are paid for, you would definitely contribute for everything to function well.

How do NBA Janitors get paid?

It would seem like the mode of payment of NBA janitors’ salaries is based on their experience. If you are new and just trying to feel an NBA court for the first time, you may be paid at the end of games with an hourly rate or fixed price. Experienced NBA janitors and mop boys may be paid weekly or monthly and may reach over $50,000 on average.

NBA Janitors’ Job Description and Benefits

Most fans would accept an NBA floor-cleaning job for free if that meant getting close to their favorite basketball stars. However, this job should still be taken seriously.

How so? The job of NBA janitors starts way before the games do. They need to clean the floor from all types of debris and sweat, so they must be around during warmups and team shootarounds. Other teams may give more tasks to janitors that are not disclosed. That means they should be ready and be on time, way before games even start.

When games start, the intensity also doubles. NBA players sweat a lot. On average, NBA players sweat at least one liter of fluid a game, and that sprawls back onto the floors. Imagine 10 guys dripping sweat running up and down the floor. Just as it is game-time for the players, it is game-time for everyone involved in the event, including the janitors.

Of course, these NBA players often fall down to the floor, either by design or physical contact. In these situations, NBA mop boys and janitors must be lightning quick in wiping their sweat off the floor to prevent injuries. During timeouts, quarter breaks, and halftime breaks, janitors must clean the court floors quickly and thoroughly.

During the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic, the job of NBA janitors becomes even more critical. According to researchers, sweat may help transmit Covid. This makes the work of NBA moppers and janitors doubly hard, always following protocols and maintaining hygiene. At the same time, that made janitors’ jobs even more important and respected within the organization

Would that be enough to be paid $100 per game or $50,000 to $90,000 a year?

Definitely! Even if their jobs are tedious and they must be alert at all times, nothing beats being part of a beautiful game like basketball and getting paid for it. What’s more, NBA janitors also receive a wide range of additional benefits, although it will be up to the teams to determine those. First, of course, they get to meet basketball’s greatest superstars. Imagine arriving early for work, and Kevin Durant or LeBron James is already out there warming up and shooting hoops.

Second, NBA janitors have a food allowance inside games. That means they don’t really have to spend a dime when they are working. Third, in rare circumstances, some really hardworking janitors may be granted scholarships by their mother organizations. And lastly, even when they are not working, janitors may still be granted access to watch games… for free!

So if you are a real NBA fan and you know the price of the tickets, being a janitor actually gives you free entrance to the game. You may see it as court access and what is even better, you even get paid for that. Of course, a janitor should never forget that he or she is actually there for a reason and that is to do a job but if you are really enjoying the occasion you can have no problem at all doing that.

And if you decide to work long term as an NBA janitor and at the same time you are a fan of the game, can you imagine what that will mean long term?

You will be with the team year after year and have seen so much action that you will have a story to tell every time you are with your buddies. There are janitors who have been in that position for decades meaning that they have literally become a part of a team. The players and coaching are coming and going but loyal personnel can be there for ages.

If you are a real NBA fan who is following the league for a couple of decades you can literally recognize people who you have seen for years by the team benches and they are not part of the roster or the coaching staff. They are just people who have done their job day in and day out and has become part of the team just like you have at your current job.

There are also examples of young people who have to get involved with this type of job just to pay their college tuition or to have their first working experience but end up having a career in it for the most part of their working years. Of course, as with any other job, the salary increases as your time spent in the position goes on. After a while, you can actually make a real living out of this job and not even think of replacing it with something fancier.

Anyway, the janitors are an integral part of any organization and even though most of the time nobody pays attention to them, they are doing their job day in and day out and giving their contribution to the team and we all need to respect that.