The current work stoppage has complicated financial matters for most NBA players, but LeBron James and several others are better off than the majority.
Marc Stein of The New York Times reported on Tuesday that players are receiving paychecks on April 1 but have not been assured further payments. Stein also notes that roughly 90 percent of NBA players will have received less than half of their 2019-20 salaries by the time that the April 1 checks go out because they are on 12-month payment plans.
However, James and several other Klutch Sports clients had negotiated “all-you-can-get” deals that pay out 90-plus percent of their 2019-20 salaries by April 1 as part of an accelerated six-month payment schedule. Also included in this group of roughly 20 select players are Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Blake Griffin, among others.
Roughly 90 percent of NBA players will have received less than half of their 2019-20 salaries by the time April 1 checks go out because they are on 12-month payment plans, league sources estimate
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 31, 2020
Less than 20 players leaguewide have negotiated all-you-can get deals which feature the maximum allowable salary advance alongside an accelerated six-month payment schedule
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 31, 2020
Nine who secured these all-you-can-get deals, which pay out 90-plus percent of their 2019-20 salaries by April 1, are represented by Klutch Sports on contracts structured and negotiated by agent Rich Paul and attorney Mark Termini
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 31, 2020
The nine Klutch players are naturally led by LeBron James and include John Wall, Kentavious-Caldwell Pope, Dejounte Murray, Miles Bridges, Darius Bazley, Darius Garland, Terrance Ferguson and Trey Lyles. Next season it will be 10 when Draymond Green’s contract extension kicks in
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 31, 2020
Other known players in this select club include the Nets’ star duo of Kevin Durant (repped by Rich Kleiman) and Kyrie Irving (Roc Nation), Detroit’s Blake Griffin (Jeff Schwartz and Sam Goldfeder) and Chicago’s Otto Porter (David Falk and Danielle Cantor)
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 31, 2020
What is also interesting is that the likes of Anthony Davis and Montrezl Harrell, both of whom signed with Klutch Sports more recently, are not among the ten Klutch players mentioned. Neither is Ben Simmons, who is still technically on his rookie contract (though the same could be said about other players who are listed like Darius Garland and Miles Bridges).
The NBA salary cap and player incomes are already expected to drop because of the financial hit from the coronavirus pandemic, and this is yet another negative side effect for the league and the vast majority of their players.
