Written by Evan Jacoby - July 11th, 2010

It would take a full-semester finance course to understand all the aspects of the NBA's salary cap rules. Scroll down to the second section of this blog to get to the real story, if you'd prefer to skip the math.

If not, follow me here. Trade exceptions, Bird rights, luxury tax, max contracts, restricted/unrestricted free agents, opt-out clauses, player options, mid-level exceptions, and much more. The lingo of NBA salary terms is endless, and requires a full encyclopedia to explain.

Even someone like me, who has studied the ins and outs of the rules in preparation for this summer's free agency, still needs to reference an online rules manual to fully comprehend an NBA signing.

One of the few simple concepts of NBA salary rules, however, is the rookie contract scale. Unlike the NFL, where teams must negotiate on grossly inflated new contracts for their rookies, the NBA doesn't allow their freshmen to negotiate. When a player is drafted into the NBA, they know how much they're getting paid. The league sets a salary scale that determines how much a new rookie can earn in his first 3 years of his rookie contract before he hits the open market as a free agent.

A first overall pick earns just over $4 million per year in year one, $4 and a half mil in year two, and a team option for about $5 million in year three.

The 5th overall pick can make $2.8 mil / $3 mil / 3.2 mil. The 15th overall pick makes $1.4/$1.5/$1.7 in his rookie contract.

And so on. Until the end of the first round. After the first round, all rookies drafted in round two or signed as undrafted free agents get non-guaranteed contracts. They negotiate low-paying deals that don't extend more than a year or two.

This phenomenon of non-guaranteed contracts for second rounders and undraftees means that your salary as an NBA player is completely up in the air after your first or second year. If a player hasn't gotten much playing time and is unable to showcase his talent, he might be looking for work in year two. But, in the rare case that he greatly outperforms expectations as a rookie, he could be in for an unexpected payday.

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Here lies the unusual case of Wesley Matthews. Matthews was a four-year college player at Marquette that went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft. The Utah Jazz signed him to a one-year, minimum salary deal last season that has since expired.

Along the way, Matthews developed into a very good player. The 6'5" shooting guard displayed his versatile game that featured defensive toughness and mid-range shooting ability. By playoff time, the Jazz featured Matthews as their starting 2-guard. In round two, this undrafted rookie was guarding Kobe Bryant at the opening tip of their series against the Lakers.

Matthews was one of those rare examples of a player that got severely overlooked at the draft. NBA GM's thought that the 4-year Marquette player had reached his upside potential and would be nothing more than an experienced practice player in the league.

What teams failed to recognize were all the skills that he developed during his college career. Matthews has an NBA body and legitimate size for a 2-guard, a solid mid-range game, good passing skills, toughness to rebound, and athleticism to defend well. Factor in his high basketball IQ, and the fact that he's the son of productive former NBA player Wes Matthews, and Wesley adjusted perfectly to the next level.

Matthews greatly outperformed his league minimum salary in 2009-'10, and earned himself the right to pursue a new contract this offseason instead of agreeing to Utah's low qualifying offer. While Utah still holds Matthews' rights as a restricted free agent, they are unlikely to match a high-paying offer from another team.

News came out on Saturday that the Portland Blazers offered Matthews a 5-year/$34-million contract. The Jazz are highly unlikely to match this lucrative offer. The conditions of the Blazers' offer include a $9.2 million salary in the first year of the deal.

So what's the significance of all this? Wesley Matthews will be making at least 20 TIMES more money this season than he did last year.

This undrafted free agent made the league minimum $457,000 salary last season, happy just to have made an NBA roster. Hard work paid off, and he's now in line to make at least $9.2 million next season.

Wesley Matthews went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft, and will be making twice as much money next season as the #1 overall pick in that same draft. What a fascinating scenario, huh?

Blake Griffin is required to continue his rookie salary scale, which gives him about $4.8 million next season. Wesley Matthews was given a non-guaranteed contract and was able to seek more money in year two after outperforming that deal. The undraftee will now make twice as much money as the number 1 overall pick!

So are the ways of the fascinating world of the NBA salary cap. Congratulations to Wes Matthews, who greatly deserves his new payday.