Jimmy Butler may be off to a successful start with the Golden State Warriors, but some new controversy has emerged surrounding the end of his tenure in Miami.
A civil lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County last week accused Butler of failing to pay $260,000 in rent and causing over $100,000 in damages to a house he was leasing in Miami Beach while playing for the Heat.
The suit, first reported by local Miami station WSVN-TV, was filed by Florida company Five Star Marketing and Promotions, Inc., which owns the property in question. The firm claims Butler remained in the house following the expiration of a two-year lease in August 2024 and refused to pay two months of holdover rent as stipulated in the lease agreement between Butler and Five Star.
The suit also claims Butler failed to keep up care of the property’s pool and air-conditioning unit and took steps to prevent Five Star from performing maintenance on the property, including insisting on hiring his own pool cleaners and changing locks while his chief of staff also blocked access to the property.
Five Star alleges the home fell into such disrepair due to a neglected leak in the air-conditioning unit that the ceiling and hardwood floor in the house had to be replaced and “an extensive amount of mold” grew on the property. The suit also says the pool was not maintained and “became overgrown with algae and other debris.”
The suit says Butler left the home after being delivered a letter demanding he pay for the property damages, but does not specify when that took place.
Five Star is seeking over $257,000 in damages to cover the unpaid rent and property repair costs not covered by Butler’s $130,000 security deposit. Butler’s agent and an attorney representing Five Star in the suit did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday from Front Office Sports.
Darren Heitner, a prominent sports lawyer in South Florida, responded to a local news story about the suit with a post on X claiming he had to file two separate grievances against Butler over unpaid agent fees. He declined comment about the matter when contacted Saturday by FOS.
I had to file a grievance against Jimmy Butler on 2 separate occasions for not paying his agent commissions. Same guy. https://t.co/MT7Q7gLCt7
— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) March 1, 2025
Butler spent most of the current NBA season in a feud with the Heat, demanding a trade after failing to reach a contract extension with the team. The Heat suspended him three different times, costing him roughly $5 million, earlier this year before agreeing to trade him to the Warriors on Feb. 5.
Butler promptly signed a two-year extension with the Warriors reportedly worth $121 million, aligning the duration of his contract with veteran Golden State stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
So far, early on-court results have been overwhelmingly positive for both Butler and the Warriors.
Golden State had struggled in the weeks before the trade with their record dropping to 25-25. But since Butler’s first game with the team on Feb. 8, the Warriors are 7-1 with five of those wins coming by double digits. Butler is averaging 16.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game through his first eight games with the Warriors.
