Ben Simmons has just agreed to a five-year, $170 million extension of his rookie contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, one that pegs him among the highest-paid players of his class, along with Jamal Murray.
LeBron James, who is also represented by the same agent in Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, couldn't help but give the 22-year-old some grief on his Instagram story:
Ben Simmons isn't lending LeBron any money after his $170M contract extension đ
(via @KingJames) pic.twitter.com/UFY9mztXe5
â NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 15, 2019
Simmons isn't only one of the best paid players of the 2016 NBA Draft class, but also across the league, making only $20 million less than seven-year max-level veterans like teammate Tobias Harris.
The 6-foot-10 point guard has benefited from the ballooning of the salary cap and playing in an era where contract numbers are through the roof, making $22 million more than teammate Joel Embiid, who signed the same extension two years ago.
Starting in 2020-21, Simmons will be the second-highest paid man on the roster after Harris, making a beefy $29.3 million that season and as much as $38.6 million in 2024-25. He can surely afford to let big brother âBron borrow $5 at some point.
From the start of that 2020-21 campaign, Philadelphia will make a $580 million investment between Embiid, Harris, Simmons and Al Horford. The Sixers will have $148 million tied between 11 players, a projected $6 million over the luxury tax threshold, according to ESPN Insider Bobby Marks.
Simmons will have a poison pill restriction in his contract as part of signing a rookie extension. The $8.1 million salary for this 2019-20 season could be used as outgoing salary, and the $29.6 million average over six years would count as incoming if a team was to trade for him.
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