When looking up loyalty in the NBA dictionary, the name Dirk Nowitzki would probably be there as the definition. The German sharpshooter has not only put the Dallas Mavericks on the NBA map, but also, in the process, has done a lot for them in a financial sense.
Cork Gaines and Diana Yukari from the Business Insider actually calculated how much Nowitzki could have earned if he did not take discounts for the Mavs. First discount came in 2006, when Nowitzki agreed to a three-year, $59 million extension even though he had two years left on his rookie extension. The second discount came in 2014, when Nowitzki signed a three-year, $25 million deal, even though he was eligible for a massive five-year, $239 million contract.
The last discount came earlier this free agency, when the Mavs, in compliance with Nowitzki himself, declined his team option for $25 million, and signed him to a two-year, $10 million deal.
If all the possible maximum deals were signed by Nowitzki, he could have amassed $446 million by the end of 2018-19 season. That is $194 million more than Nowitzki earned in his career, which is $252 million.
However, Nowitzki got something that is more valuable, at least to him, than maximum contracts. He won a ring in 2011 with the franchise that he spent his whole career with.
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