Terry Rozier’s leave from the Miami Heat will be fully paid until the NBA determines if he broke league rules.
Rozier was arrested on Thursday morning, along with Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, as part of a federal gambling probe he’s been linked to since January. Rozier was on the bench for the Heat’s season-opening loss to the Magic on Wednesday, but did not play in the game. Hours after his arrest, Rozier was arraigned in federal court Thursday afternoon and released on a $6 million bond.
Rozier was previously cleared of an NBA investigation, but the FBI still found reason to arrest and charge him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each charge could carry up to 20 years in prison.
In August 2021, Rozier signed a four-year, $96.3 million contract with the Hornets and was traded to Miami in January 2024 for Kyle Lowry and a first-round pick. He’s in the final year of his contract and is set to make $26.6 million this season, roughly $25 million of which is guaranteed. For his career, Rozier has made about $162 million in 10 seasons.
According to Exhibit F–7 of the NBA CBA, which touches on administrative leave, any player on leave “shall be ineligible to play in any of his team’s games. However, the player will continue to receive his salary and other welfare benefits to which he would be entitled as an active player.”
The Uniform Players Contract that all players sign gives NBA commissioner Adam Silver the ability to suspend Rozier from the NBA or ban him if it finds he has bet on NBA games. The NBA Operations Manual also forbids players, coaches, and executives from giving inside information to gamblers.
If the 6-foot-1 guard is found to have violated the rules, Silver could ban him from the NBA. If he were banned, Rozier’s payments would cease immediately and his $26.6 million contract would be removed from Miami’s payroll and stop counting against the salary cap. The Heat currently have a payroll of $186 million, according to Spotrac, which is $1.6 million below the luxury tax.
On Thursday, federal authorities alleged Rozier told his childhood friend, Deniro Laster, that he would pretend to be hurt in a March 2023 game against the Pelicans while he was playing for the Hornets and “prematurely remove himself from the game in the first quarter.” Before the game, Rozier was not listed on the Hornets’ injury report. Laster, who was also charged on Thursday, took Rozier’s information and sold it to conspirators, who then bet the under on Rozier’s statistics, according to the indictment.
Rozier took himself out of the game in the first quarter, which allowed the bets to hit. He later shared in the winnings with Laster.
Although the legal process still has to play out, that might not stop the NBA from acting. Silver banned former Raptors forward Jontay Porter in April 2024, which was three months before he pled guilty to his role in the same scheme.
Billups’s contract situation is different because coaches do not have a collective bargaining agreement with the league. A league source said Billups’s compensation comes down to the language in his contract with the team. After the 2024–25 season, Billups got a two-year extension, with both years guaranteed, according to The Oregonian. The new deal reportedly came with a raise from the $4.7 million he made last year.
The Heat are set to play their first game since Rozier’s arrest on Friday in Memphis. The NBA, Heat, NBPA, and Aaron Turner—Rozier’s agent—all did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rozier’s lawyer denied the allegations in a statement to FOS and other outlets Thursday.
“They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly in-credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing,” the lawyer, Jim Trusty, said. “Terry was cleared by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case.”
