Some NBA Players Are Under-Paid

Sorry Nick, you'll never be $100-grand richer

Did that headline shock you?  It should have.  NBA players can be called a lot of things, but under-paid hasn’t been one of them for years, if ever.  It’s not the salary that is too low, but rather the amount tied to certain contract incentives.  Things like winning a championship or scoring title or starting all 82 games often gives players a boost in earnings.  Some owners have apparently started getting clever with this practice. 

Dave D’Alessandro of the New Jersey based Star-Ledger did some sleuthing and uncovered some of the league’s most bizarre contract incentives.  Heat players are essentially paid to work-out over the summer. Matt Bonner gets a bonus if his percentages add up to 169, making one wonder why he would ever take a contested shot or attempt a buzzer beater.  The real gems and under-paid-ness, however, come from the contracts of Nick Collison and Adonal Foyle.  Nick collects $100k and Foyle $500k if they are awarded the league MVP.  That’s it?  Are NBA owners really scared of that unlikely scenario playing out?  If I’m negotiating with one of these guys and they’re unhappy with the league minimum, I’d be willing to throw in an extra $500-mil if they win the MVP.  I’d have to keep that under wraps though.  My powerful enemies would likely rig the voting. 

Now I’m curious to know who breached the subject of an incentive to win MVP, the player, the agent or the team?  If it was the player, I guess you could say he has big goals or that he’s bat shit crazy.  If it’s the agent, you could say he wants his client rewarded for his efforts, or he’s bat shit crazy.  If it’s the team, well, they signed Nick Collison or Adonal Foyle, so at least in part, they’re bat shit crazy. 

It almost seems cruel to dangle that carrot in front of their noses like this though.  There’s a max of 10 players who could possibly win the MVP next season, and Foyle and Collison aren’t on it.  Telling them how great their lives could become if they were to win the award is harsher than the prom queen standing 10 feet away from the kid in a wheel chair and promising to sleep with him if he can walk to her.  I say harsher because I’ve heard of miracles like a cripple walking… but not Adonal Foyle, your 2010 MVP.

Tags: Adonal Foyle, basketball, NBA, Nick Collison

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