Ja Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies’ star player, was suspended without pay for eight games earlier this season for « conduct detrimental to the league » after he was seen holding a gun on a livestream video. This decision cost Morant around $1.5 million of his 2022-23 salary and might have indirectly cost him much more over the course of his next contract. Morant’s extension with the Grizzlies last summer was worth at least 25% of the salary cap ($192.2 million) and had the potential to increase to 30% ($231.4 million) with a 2022-23 All-NBA team selection. By not making the cut, Morant missed out on $39 million over the next five seasons.
The « Derrick Rose Rule » is a clause in the league’s 2011 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) allowing a player re-signing with his current team to earn a salary greater than the typical maximum starting in his fifth season if at least one of a list of criteria is met. As of the 2017-18 season, that includes being named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or in two of the previous three seasons. Beginning in 2023-24, the league’s new CBA will make all-NBA voting positionless, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, preventing a strange technicality, such as the one involving Tatum, from hurting a player’s wallet.
Rookie extensions like Morant’s aren’t the only salaries impacted by awards. Thanks to a second-team selection, the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown will be eligible to sign the Designated Veteran Extension (also known as a « supermax » contract) this summer, which would kick in for the 2024-25 season. His teammate Jayson Tatum will also be eligible for the same distinction starting in 2025-26 regardless of whether he makes an All-NBA team next season, since he has now made it in both 2022 and 2023. Typically, players cannot sign deals worth more than 30% of the cap until the start of their 10th season, but all-NBA status allows players to secure a salary worth 35% of the cap before their eighth or ninth season.
The system of determining awards based on a media vote has come under scrutiny in recent years, with voter bias being a concern. The status quo isn’t perfect, but it may be here to stay. It appears player salaries will continue to be tied to awards based on the CBA term sheet highlights reviewed by Sportico.
