That was Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks expressing his discontent with the availability of NBA player earnings and contracts of other professional athletes.
During a recent Twitch stream, Irving made the following comment: “It’s interesting that, of course, people will know what CEOs of Fortune 500 companies make… but when it comes to sports, you know exactly the pay scale and the details of it.” “And yet, the topic is handled as if the real-world implications of that don’t exist.
In a recent Twitch conversation, the Dallas Mavericks star raised concerns about the potential outcomes of player contracts being publicly known. Read the opinions of other sportsmen here. “How much does that make someone’s life a target?” That was Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks expressing his discontent with the fact that contracts involving professional athletes, including NBA players, are frequently public knowledge.
“I find it very interesting that, of course, people will know what CEOs of Fortune 500 companies make … but when it comes to sports, you know exactly the pay scale and the details of it,” Irving said on a Twitch stream recently. “And then it is discussed as though there aren’t any real-life consequences to that.” Irving is absolutely right that the salaries of NBA players—as well as their bonuses and escalators—are frequently known to the public. On July 7, for instance, Irving inked a three-year, $118.5 million deal with the Mavericks. And the 33-year-old has signed a whopping four-and-a-half million dollar worth of NBA contracts throughout his fourteen-year career.
While it’s true that there isn’t a central repository for all professional athletes’ contract information, you can usually find snippets about these deals in the media or among the leagues’ salary caps and CBAs.
The data is then daily aggregated by websites such as Hoopshype and Spotrac. Irving has expressed concern that knowing one’s financial status might make one vulnerable to unfair treatment, saying he often wonders if people treat him differently. But eventually, isn’t it too much data? When will I feel the first hint of comfort?
Irving noted that there is an uncomfortable space for him to exist in within our shared society if you are aware of his precise creations. “There are moments when it becomes somewhat invasive,” he stated. Maybe Irving was making a point about how, maybe because of their public salaries, athletes have been the targets of robberies and scams. Some NBA players have spoken publicly about their experiences with home invasions in the past few years.
These include Luka Doncic, Mike Conley, DeMar DeRozan, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. So what do other athletes think about their salaries and compensation being so public? In a conversation with MarketWatch last year, Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves admitted that his salary being widely known makes him uncomfortable sometimes. “You definitely get some comments,” Reaves said. “People want me to buy something, and I say, ‘No, I’m good.’ And they say, ‘You’re rich – $200 doesn’t matter to you.’ But then I say, ‘OK, but I still don’t want to buy it.'” Reaves added that he’s generally pretty frugal with his money, even after signing a $53.8 million contract in 2023.
But some other athletes seem less bothered by their salaries going public. “I really hadn’t thought about it,” Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf told MarketWatch. “This is the life I chose to live. Having people around me that I trust who have the same motives as me and not just somebody who’s just around me for the wrong reasons.” “I’m a genuine person, the bad people are going to weed themselves out. Everybody doesn’t get to touch my money – only the people that I bless,” Metcalf said.
Metcalf has signed three contracts in the NFL, totaling $211.6 million. Dillon Brooks of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, who is currently under a four-year, $86 million contract, told MarketWatch it’s part of being in the public eye. “It’s weird because sometimes people feel obligated or entitled to my money because they know me,” Brooks told MarketWatch. “When you get to this point in your life when your earnings get this high, most of your life is public.” See: WNBA star Caitlin Clark reveals the $10 luxury she won’t pay for: ‘I’m a little cheap’ Irving, a 14-year NBA veteran, is known for his scoring and top-tier dribbling ability.
But he’s also drawn attention for a few off-court controversies. Nike (NKE) ended its relationship with Irving back in 2022 after the NBA star shared a social-media link to a film containing antisemitic material.
Irving also lost gametime and as much as $100 million, he said, after not getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2021, which violated New York City’s vaccine mandate for businesses at the time, precluding him from playing in home games for the Brooklyn Nets. But Irving has been an active philanthropist as well.
He has donated money to the Anti-Defamation League, he purchased a home for the family of George Floyd and works with the Kai Family Foundation, a nonprofit started by Irving dedicated to serving communities.
Irving’s accolades include nine All-Star Game appearances, the 2012 Rookie of the Year award and one NBA championship. Read on: Venus Williams says she returned to tennis for the health insurance – even after earning $42 million -Weston Blasi This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
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