The Apron Era Has Nearly Killed the NBA Contract Bonus

Chris Paul made history on Sunday and has some cash to show for it. 

The 39-year-old Spurs guard played in Sunday’s regular season finale against the Raptors, which made him the first player to suit up in all 82 regular season games in the 20th year of their career. Legendary Jazz guard John Stockton played 82 games in 2002–03, his 19th season. 

This past summer, Paul signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Spurs to help anchor a young and upcoming team led by second-year center Victor Wembanyama. Paul took a discount to sign with the Spurs, but his contract came with eight incentives, three of which he hit this season, partially due to his perfect attendance. 

That makes Paul a rarity in the modern NBA, where bonuses can count against the dreaded salary cap apron—even if players don’t achieve them.

Before the start of the season, 53 NBA players had bonuses in their contracts, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Fewer than 10 wound up materializing. 

Paul played in 82 games for just the second time in his 20-year career and the first time in a decade. He netted roughly $785,000 in bonuses. One bonus was for $262,000 for the Spurs winning at least 32 games and two others for the same amount from net rating and true shooting percentage, which were tied to him playing at least 65 games. Paul likely had other team-based incentives that became unreachable after Wembanyama was ruled out for the rest of the regular season in February due to blood clots. 

Paul wasn’t the only winner when it came to incentives. Timberwolves forward Julius Randle earned $1.4 million in bonuses this weekend for playing in at least 65 games and for helping the team clinch a postseason appearance. Randle is making $33 million this season and has a $31 million player option in his contract for next season. 

He played in 69 games, but had to wait until this weekend to clinch the playoff bonus given the jam-packed Western Conference standings. Randle’s bonus was categorized as “unlikely” because he played just 46 games for the Knicks last season due to shoulder issues. 

Magic forward Jonathan Isaac was the biggest known bonus winner. On Friday, he played in his 70th game, which triggered a $2.6 million bonus. Isaac has battled injuries throughout his career and played in fewer than 70 games combined in the two previous seasons. Isaac is in the final year of a four-year, $70 million contract that paid $25 million this season. Next year, he will start a new four-year contract for $60 million that pays $15 million annually. 

Rockets forward Dillion Brooks also hit a contract bonus earlier this month. In early April, Brooks secured an extra $1 million for helping the team clinch a postseason berth. He’s in the second year of a four-year, $86 million contract.