NBA Star Ja Morant is facing his second lengthy suspension in the calendar year, and they’ve cost him millions of dollars.
The NBA announced on Friday, June 16 that Morant, the star point guard of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, has been suspended 25 games. Morant is expected to serve the suspension at the beginning of the 2023-24 NBA season starting in October, barring any injuries that would deem him ineligible to play.
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Morant’s suspensions are due to two separate incidents with firearms. The first was on March 4 when Morant displayed a firearm at a Denver nightclub, after which the league suspended him eight games. On May 13, Morant flashed a firearm again during a live-stream on Instagram.
Because Morant is suspended without pay, he will be losing money for every game missed. For the eight games he missed in the 2022-23 season, Morant lost $668,659, according to Spotrac.
However, Morant’s $194 million, five-year max extension kicks in during the 2023-24 season, meaning he will be losing significantly more money per game. ESPN’s Bobby Marks estimated that Morant’s per game salary is just under $305,000, meaning he will lose over $7.6 million from this suspension.
But Morant has effectively lost much more than the estimated $8.3 million between the 33 suspended games.
Had Morant made an All-NBA team last season -- Morant needed to be considered one of the league’s six best guards -- his max contract, worth about 25% of a team’s salary cap, would have been upgraded to a supermax extension, worth 30% of a team’s salary cap.
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The NBA has yet to declare the salary cap figure for next season, but estimates show that the difference between the two contracts is likely to be around $39 million.
Morant’s suspension last season put a stain on his play and had many voters choosing to leave them off his list. He finished 7th in voting among guards.
All in all, Morant’s suspension has directly cost him around $47 million, with $8.3 million coming as a direct loss
