MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies and their fans all got the long-awaited news they were dreading on Friday when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver suspended Morant for 25 games for his latest off-court incident involving a gun.
While the on-court implications for Morant's absence are obvious, what's lesser known is just how much money Ja is going to lose from his suspension, between game wages lost and sponsorship deals.
Contract money lost
The NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement outlines a player can only lose 1/145th of his total salary per game due to a suspension under 20 games, or 1/110th of salary if a suspension is longer than 20 games.
Since Morant's suspension is 25 games, he'll lose game salary at the 1/110th mark.
Morant recently signed a five-year, $192 million contract extension that begins on July 1, with his 2023-2024 pay right around $33.5 million, meaning he'll lose $304,000 per game, or, $7.6 million in total. He's already lost money on that deal, likely from off-court incidents.
Ja's extension included a Rose Rule clause, meaning if he made the All-NBA team in 2022-2023, before the extension went into effect, the contract would rise to five years, $231.4 million, a $39 million increase over the length of the contract.
Morant, who had the NBA's sixth-highest player efficiency rating among point guards with 23.52, received just 44 All-NBA points based on votes, well behind Damien Lillard's 137, the lowest mark among All-NBA guards, meaning Morant's off-court incidents likely led to his exclusion from the team, and his lost contract money.
The Grizzlies will be able to recover half of Morant's contract money lost in cap space, or about $3.8 million total.
Endorsement money lost
Like most NBA superstars, contract payments aren't Ja Morant's only source of revenue for the 2023-2024 season. Morant also has several major endorsement deals which could be at stake.
Along with major endorsements from Hulu, Beats by Dre, Panini America and Powerade, Ja also has a multi-year endorsement deal from Nike worth $12.1 million, which included a sneaker line, the "Ja 1s."
Morant is expected to earn anywhere from $20 million to $45 million in 2023-2024 on endorsement deals, but that number is largely in flux with many of his major brands disassociating themselves with him.
Powerade pulled their ad campaign centered around Morant in March when he was suspended for the first gun incident and have not mentioned him since on social media.
Nike made a similar move in May after the second gun incident, pulling the release of the Ja 1 "Hunger" edition from their website ahead of an anticipated May 25 release, and pulling the line from their website entirely a short while later.
After the announcement Friday of the 25-games suspension, ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne posted this statement from Nike: “We are pleased that Ja is taking accountability and prioritizing his well-being. We will continue to support him on and off the court.”
Hulu has also pulled their ads featuring Ja, which debuted before the NBA season in 2022.
While these brands may not fully cancel their deals with Ja, he could be facing millions of dollars in potential lost revenue, equaling, if not surpassing, the amount he'll forfeit from his contract.