Bradley Beal Opted Out Of His Contract, Which Means He’s About To Get PAID

ByJoey Heldon June 29, 2022inArticles›Sports News

It’s been incredibly lucrative to be a starting guard for the Washington Wizards the past few years. John Wall scored a four-year, $170 million from the team in 2017 that started in 2019 and appeared in a grand total of zero games for the Wizards once that contract actually began. Bradley Beal signed a five-year, $127 million extension back in 2016 and a $72 million deal that started last year. Now, Beal is in line for a massive extension that could be worth nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.

Beal has declined his $36.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season. That move gives him basically two options: he can either re-sign with the Wizards on a five-year extension or join a new team on a four-year contract. In both scenarios, Beal will earn a ton of money.

If he joins a new team, Beal can sign for four years and $184 million. But if he stays with the Wizards, he can ink a five-year, $248 million deal, including $56.4 million in fully guaranteed money during the final year of the contract, which would be the 2026-27 season. Both the overall contract value and that final year’s salary would be NBA records.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Beal, who just turned 29, has spent his entire ten-year career with the Wizards. The team selected him with the third pick of the 2012 draft and he’s already set the franchise record for the most three-pointers made and attempted. He’s also made three All-Star teams and earned All-NBA Third Team honors during the 2020-21 season, but played in only 40 games last year after suffering a wrist injury.

Financially, staying with the Wizards is a no-brainer. No other team can offer more money, and the security of a fifth year is very appealing. As John Robbins of The Athletic notes, if Beal takes the four-year deal, he will be 33 years old by the time he hits free agency again. It’s unlikely he’d make more than $56.4 million at that stage of his career.

But Beal might also be interested in joining a contender. The Wizards have struggled to maintain any kind of positive momentum, failing to reach the playoffs in three of the past five seasons and not getting out of the first round the other two. If Beal decides he’s had enough in Washington, he could take a (relative) pay cut to move to a team that’s closer to winning a championship.

Either way, Beal is about to have a huge payday. And that’s a great position to be in.

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After Playing Zero Games This Season, John Wall Could Make $47+ Million Next Year

ByJoey Heldon May 16, 2022inArticles›Sports News

John Wall has had a tumultuous NBA career. The No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Wall quickly became a key part of the Washington Wizards backcourt alongside Bradley Beal . Wall posted several strong seasons — winning All-Rookie First Team honors in 2011 and making the All-NBA Third Team in 2017 — and made five straight All-Star appearances from 2014 to 2018.

The Wizards thought they might have something special with their backcourt duo, and in July 2017, signed Wall to a four-year, $170 million contract extension. But shortly after that, an injury bug hit — and it hit hard.

Wall missed half of the 2017-18 season dealing with a knee injury, appearing in 41 regular-season games but managing to recover in time for the playoffs. That was five seasons ago; since then, Wall has not played more than 41 games in any given year.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

During the 2018-19 season, he played 32 games before a heel injury prematurely ended his season. He had surgery on the heel, it got infected, and to make matters worse, Wall slipped in his home and ruptured his Achilles. He missed the entire 2019-20 season — which included a four-month delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic — as he recovered from both injuries.

Before the next season started, the Wizards traded Wall to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook , one of the few players with a contract as massive as the one Wall signed. Wall appeared in 40 games with the Rockets that year and showed flashes of his old self. However, he again missed time due to injury, in this case, a hamstring strain.

That brings us to this season. Wall was healthy enough to play…only the Rockets didn’t send him onto the court for even a single minute of action. Houston was among the worst teams in the league and wanted to see how their young core, led by Christian Wood, Kevin Porter, Jr., and Jalen Green, would gel together on the court. Adding Wall into the mix would only delay their team’s development.

Wall has earned about $123 million from this contract already. Now, he has a player option for $47.4 million that he’s planning to accept. Why wouldn’t he? There’s zero chance a team would offer him close to that amount in free agency based on his injury history, so he may as well lock it in.

The problem is that the Rockets likely won’t pay Wall $47.4 million to once again sit on the bench. So, we may see a buyout occur. The Rockets will pay Wall a portion of his contract and send him off into free agency. In return, he’ll offer to give back some of that $47.4 million so he can join another team, perhaps a contender that could use some quality minutes with their second unit. Wall showed glimpses of promise in the 2020-21 season, and he’s now had an entire offseason to rest and focus on his next move. He could be a key piece for another team that’s closer to a championship.

We’ll see what Wall ultimately ends up earning with his next deal. It probably won’t be $47.4 million. But the idea that it could happen for a guy who has played just 72 games over the past four seasons — including ZERO last year — is absolutely wild.

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