Whenever a professional sports team and a player come to an agreement on a new contract, or extension, you’d like to see both sides come out as winners.
However, not every deal is a win-win for both team and player, and both sides usually don’t find out how they’ve made out until a couple of years down the road or when the contract expires.
For example, a player like Morgan Rielly is making $5 million a season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The defenceman is in the fourth year of a six-year, $30 million contract with the Leafs, but with the way Rielly has performed the last couple of years, he could easily earn $8 million a season on the open market.
Then there is Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, who has reportedly signed a one-year extension with the team worth $31 million.
The 33-year-old, who has been an NBA all-star in each of the last five seasons, is now locked up through the 2020-21 season and will collect about $65 million over that span.
Not bad for a player who joined the Raptors as a 26-year-old NBA journeyman in 2012, eh?
Get daily National news
The extension allows Toronto to keep a key piece of their core intact while allowing the club to potentially become a big player in what is expected to be a monumental free-agent summer in 2021.
That’s when LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo – just to name three – will all hit the open market.
Lowry’s short-term deal keeps the Raps in the playoff discussion this year and next, and allows him to cash in on his so-called ‘legacy’ standing with the team.
For now, it’s a win-win.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.