Two young stars get hefty bonuses for making All-NBA teams
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards.
Two young NBA stars are about to get richer.
Anthony Edwards, 22, and Tyrese Haliburton, 24, have earned an additional $41 million in bonuses on their rookie scale contracts by making All-NBA teams.
Both stars signed rookie max extensions last summer worth 25 percent of the salary cap (five years, $204 million) with the potential to increase to 30 percent (five years, $ $245 million) if they made any of the three All-NBA teams. While Edwards made the second team, Haliburton clinched one of the final few spots on the third team by edging out the likes of Jaylen Brown, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey.
While Edwards was always a lock to make an All-NBA team, Haliburton likely benefited from the NBA's new 65-game threshold, which resulted in the likes of Joel Embiid, Donovan Mitchell, Ja Morant, Julius Randle and Kristaps Porzingis not qualifying for the honors.
Haliburton — who played 69 games for the Pacers — was dangerously close to missing out on the 65-game threshold after he suffered a hamstring injury in January. Haliburton admittedly "rushed back" from injury to avoid missing on the $41 million bonus. At one point, he missed 14 consecutive games.
Edwards' Timberwolves and Haliburton's Pacers are among the last four teams left in the postseason. Their hefty bonuses feel all the more validated as a result.
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