Stephen Curry signed a one-year, $62.6-million extension Thursday, keeping him with the Golden State Warriors through the 2026-2027 season and elevating his career salaries to more than $500 million.

Curry, 36, would accompany LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only NBA players to have been paid a half a billion dollars in salary. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Curry has earned $347,844,681 in 15 seasons and is now set to be guaranteed an additional $178 million over the next three seasons for a total of approximately $526 million.

As for the fourth active player who will crack the $500-million barrier by playing the next four years under a contract he signed this summer? That will be ex-Clipper Paul George.

Underscoring the continuous escalating NBA salaries, only two retired players have exceeded even $300 million in salaries: Kevin Garnett ($343,872,398) and Kobe Bryant ($328,238,062).

Salaries is the key word because James, Durant and Curry will have exceeded $1 billion when endorsements are included in their overall earnings. Michael Jordan, who was paid “only” $94,022,500 in salary, has made more money than any other athlete at $2.7 billion — thanks for the most part to Nike.

Neither James nor Durant has reached $500 million in salaries yet, but both are under contracts that guarantee they will cross the threshold unless they retire first.

James, 39, has made $482,593,928 in 21 seasons, and in July, he agreed to a two-year, $104-million extension with the Lakers. Durant, 35, has made $399,155,146 in 17 seasons and is guaranteed $51.2 million in 2024-2025 and $54.7 million in 2025-2026 with the Phoenix Suns.

The numbers are enough to make the eyes of an average working stiff glaze over. In Curry’s case, the time seemed ripe for him to add a third year to his current deal, the maximum allowed under the NBA’s over-38 rule, which prevents teams from offering contracts of four years or more to players who will turn 38 during that deal.

(The purpose of the over-38 rule is to prevent teams from circumventing the salary cap by offering a contract that extends beyond when the player is expected to retire.)

Fresh in everyone’s mind is Curry’s clutch play in the U.S. winning gold at the Paris Olympics. Last season, he averaged 26.4 points and 5.1 assists per game while leading the NBA in clutch scoring. He was an All-Star for the 10th time, has won two MVP awards and helped Golden State win four NBA championships.

Curry has been vocal about his desire to retire having played only with Golden State.

“I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life,” he told Andscape in July. “At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible.”

Six players besides James, Durant and Curry have exceeded $300 million in career salary earnings — and four have played for the Clippers.

Chris Paul, 39, is third behind James and Durant at $390,507,923, but it doesn’t appear he will approach $500 million after he signed a one-year, $10.46-million deal with the San Antonio Spurs for the 2024-2025 season.

The same is true for Russell Westbrook, 35, who has made $342,603,650 but signed a two-year, $6,772,731 contract with the Denver Nuggets. James Harden is next at $340,677,097, although he’ll surpass Westbrook and exceed $400 million after signing a two-year, $70-million deal with the Clippers.

George, 34, is the youngest in the $300-million club at $307,684,213. In July, he signed a four-year, $211,584,940 contract with the Philadelphia 76ers that will lift his career salary earnings beyond half a billion.

SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rockets have been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration for the second time in two months after one of them caught fire, fell over and exploded upon its return to Earth this week.

The decision by the agency could further delay the historic Polaris Dawn mission, which will feature the first space walk by civilians. The crew, in a SpaceX Dragon capsule, will be sent to space by a Falcon 9, the company’s workhorse rocket.

The five-day mission was originally set to blast off Monday but has been delayed repeatedly for various reasons, including a leaking launch-pad helium line and unfavorable weather off the coast of Florida, where the capsule will splash down on return.

The Falcon 9 that failed blasted off early Wednesday morning from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and launched 21 satellites into orbit as part of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which provides space-based internet service.

The second-stage of the rocket burned up in the atmosphere as planned, while an engine that is part of the first-stage booster reignited to power a controlled landing on an uncrewed barge in the ocean. Video of Wednesday’s flight shows the returning stage touching down on the ship and falling over while partially engulfed in flames.

SpaceX said that the first stage had completed 22 launches and returns before the accident. The mishap also ended a streak of 267 successful returns for the Falcon 9 program, which has sharply lower launch costs due its reusable stage.

In announcing the grounding, the FAA noted Wednesday that while “no public injuries or public property damage have been reported” it was “requiring an investigation.”

Last month, the Falcon 9 was grounded for two weeks after the second-stage engine misfired mid-flight due to what was later determined to be a liquid oxygen leak in a line leading to a pressure sensor. The mishap occurred July 11 during an attempt to launch a payload of 20 Starlink satellites. The satellites did not reach their intended orbit and burned up in the atmosphere.

The Falcon 9 has been critical in establishing SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband network. It also handles commercial payloads and launches the company’s Dragon capsules, which carry cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station.

The Falcon 9 has launched a total 365 missions, according to SpaceX.

The Polaris Dawn mission is being funded by Jared Isaacman, a fintech billionaire who will serve as commander of a crew of four, including two SpaceX employees. On their third day in space, Isaacman and a second crew member are scheduled to carry out the first commercial space walk.

They will be testing a new generation of mobile space suits that SpaceX says will be necessary to colonize the moon and Mars.

The Falcon 9 also is scheduled next month to launch a Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station, where two NASA astronauts have been stranded since June due to problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. They are scheduled to return to earth on the Crew Dragon in February.

The Dodgers are giving away a second Shohei Ohtani bobblehead doll on Wednesday, this one with Ohtani holding his dog Decoy. In May, when the Dodgers staged their first Ohtani bobblehead night, fans lined up outside Dodger Stadium hours before game time, with the gates to the parking lot still closed.

The demand for all things Ohtani has sent season-ticket prices soaring, just like one of his majestic home runs. As of Monday afternoon, the Dodgers were selling tickets to Wednesday’s game for a minimum of $131 and to Thursday’s game — against the same opponent, the Baltimore Orioles — for a minimum of $36.

It takes a lot of money to get that free bobblehead. However, in an illustration of a policy embraced by the Dodgers and most other major league teams, you could pay all that money and still not get that free bobblehead.

The Dodgers say they have 40,000 bobbleheads to give away. They sold 53,527 tickets to the first Ohtani bobblehead night.

“Why do that,” asked Andy Dolich, a marketing expert and formerly a top executive for the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco 49ers, Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Capitals, “when the promotional concept is to put a smile on someone’s face?”

The San Diego Padres, like the Dodgers, limit most giveaways to the first 40,000 fans. The Angels generally provide giveaways to the first 25,000 fans. The Arizona Diamondbacks adjust their limit depending on the promotion, but most commonly distribute giveaways to the first 20,000 fans.

“I get it,” Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall said. “When I was a kid and I went to Dodger Stadium, I definitely had to get the batting glove every year, but I never feared not getting one.”

What has changed, Hall said, is that the increase in the number of giveaway dates has made the total cost of giveaways more prohibitive.

“It’s really just a budget issue,” Hall said. “That’s all it is. Teams have so many more promotions than they used to.”

For one, Dodgers president Stan Kasten said, the corporate sponsors that cover the cost of most giveaways may not have the budget for 53,000 promotional items.

“And, when you get there early, you have the opportunity to do other kinds of shopping, whether it’s food or merchandise,” Kasten said. “It also helps with traffic and things like that.

“We try to make all our fans happy. Most fans, when there is a limit and they come late, I think they understand.”

The Angels declined to make an executive available for comment, but a spokesman said the team tries to ensure every fan that arrives by first pitch can get that game’s giveaway item.

The Shohei Ohtani and Decoy bobblehead doll that will be given to fans attending Wednesday’s game between the Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles at Dodger Stadium.

(Los Angeles Dodgers)

The Padres list seating capacity at 40,222, not including a grass and turf park behind center field that can accommodate another 6,000 fans. The Padres’ giveaway limit: 40,000.

“That number covers our fixed seating capacity and estimated turnstile attendance for nearly every giveaway game,” Chief Executive Erik Greupner said, “ensuring that all ticket holders will receive a promo item.”

Hall said the Diamondbacks make adjustments for the most popular items. A replica National League championship ring was supposed to be limited to the first 30,000 fans, but the team actually distributed almost 40,000.

“We wanted to make sure we had a surplus so, if someone didn’t get one, we could take care of them,” he said.

Kasten said the Dodgers and other teams try to accommodate fans with extenuating circumstances.

The challenge on nights like an Ohtani bobblehead night is to take care of the actual fans rather than the speculators that buy the ticket in order to make money selling the item on eBay.

On Monday, the bobbleheads given away in May were selling in the range of $500 and up, with the ones scheduled for Wednesday already available for around $200.

Still, given that ticket prices are so high because of the bobblehead giveaway, Dolich said the Dodgers would be wise to take care of every customer — not just the one who lines up hours in advance and resells the bobblehead before first pitch, but the one with kids who might not be able to arrive before the bobblehead supply runs out.

“You absolutely cannot alienate that last person,” Dolich said, “the family that comes from Encino just for that night, with 8-year-old twins, and it’s, ‘Sorry, we’re done.’ ”