Years Before James Harden or Dwyane Wade Took Pay Cuts, Shaquille O’Neal Took a $10 Million Loss for a Noble Cause: “Allows Me to Address All of My Family’s Long-Term Financial Goals”

Published 10/03/2022, 9:30 AM EDT

It is obvious that most NBA players are paid a fortune by the teams they play for. Based on the 2021-22 season, the salary of an average NBA player is $7.3 million. Whereas players like Stephen Curry and LeBron James are paid anywhere from $20 million to over $40 million per season. However, there have come times when NBA stars like Shaquille O’Neal deliberately settled for a lesser amount for the sake of the franchise.

Former Houston Rockets player James Harden can also be listed among the players who took pay cuts. Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2021 and after playing for just one season, Harden was again traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers had hoped for Harden to join forces with Joel Embiid and lead the team to the championship. Evidently, Harden opted out of his $47 million player option to help the Sixers bring in stronger players.

Article continues below this ad

Sources: James Harden is taking a $15 million paycut for next season that allowed Philadelphia to elevate roster — with sole focus on a championship run in 2023. Harden opted out of his $47M player option and now plans to sign a new two-year deal with a player option in Year 2.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2022

Similarly, former NBA player Dwyane Wade decided to take a pay cut along with fellow Miami Heat teammates LeBron James and Chris Bosh. While signing the ‘Big Three’ was an achievement for the Heat in itself, the franchise also needed to tend to their other players. As the Heat was about to lose one of their players, the ‘Big Three’ decided to take a pay cut to help out the franchise. Dwyane Wade reportedly waived $1.5 million from his annual salary.

“I Like Her”: Shaquille O’Neal Admits Friendship with 45 Year Old Actress Caught in Ime Udoka and Celtics Crossfire

However, James Harden and Dwyane Wade were not the only ones who took pay cuts. Long before them, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal had given up a huge sum of money for the sake of the franchise as well.

Shaquille O’Neal helps out the Miami Heat

Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, after playing for eight years with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers wanted to extend their contract with the Big Aristotle, but both parties could not come to an agreement. Additionally, the trade did not come as much of a surprise due to the highly-publicized feud between O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

“Remember this I’m going to bring a championship to Miami, I promise,” said Shaq.

Article continues below this ad

O’Neal signed a five-year contract with the Heat that was worth $100 million. Evidently, Shaq had a player option of $30.6 million but eventually decided to opt-out of it. He settled on $20 million per season, while also giving financial flexibility to the franchise.

“This contract allows me to address all of my family’s long-term financial goals while allowing the Heat the ability to acquire those players that we need to win a championship,” said Shaq.

Article continues below this ad

WATCH THIS STORY – Rappers Quavo & Take-off Drop Sensational Tribute to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant

Things arguably worked out well for the Heat as the NBA star led the team to their first-ever NBA championship in 2006.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Siyari Debbarma is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. She is currently pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering from Abascus Institute of Engineering and Management. She previously interned at the Y-East Organization as a content writer.

Edited by:

Veer Badani

Years Before James Harden or Dwyane Wade Took Pay Cuts, Shaquille O’Neal Took a $10 Million Loss for a Noble Cause: “Allows Me to Address All of My Family’s Long-Term Financial Goals”

Shaquille O’Neal helps out the Miami Heat

Trending

Billionaire Michael Jordan’s $61 Million Arrival in Talladega Saw Unusual Absence of Wife Yvette Prieto

Anthony Davis Storms Out Of Press Conference While De’Angelo Russell Takes NBA Refs To Task Online

What Happened to Kenny Smith’s Legs? Unfolding the Sad Truth Behind TNT Host’s Dodgy Knees

“So Rigged”: All Hell Breaks Loose as Jamal Murray Forces LeBron James’ Lakers Into Bitter Embarrassment

Shaquille O’Neal Only Has 1 Question for LeBron James’ Lakers After Ruining 20-Point Lead Against Nuggets