Kawhi Leonard Contract: Actual Numbers Behind 2x NBA Champ’s Reported $153 Million Extension and How It Impacts Clippers’ Luxury Tax

After having served five years with the LA Clippers, Kawhi Leonard had created the impression of being someone on whom the management and the rest of the players could depend. As a result, he was offered a generous three-year extension back in January that would provide him with a whopping $153 million over that period. In a statement, Clippers President Lawrence Frank revealed, “We feel fortunate that Kawhi chose to join the Clippers five years ago and excited to keep building with him.”

Unfortunately, the deal was not up to the mark of what the player was eligible to earn moving forward. With the Clippers now looking to avoid going beyond the luxury tax restriction, Leonard’s pay has again been altered under the circumstances.

Revealing his salary, NBA reporter Justin Russo took to X to say that Leonard’s pay was officially lowered from $153 million to $149.5 million. The update came into view after the NBA released the salary cap numbers for the upcoming season.

If we look at a year-by-year breakdown for Kawhi Leonard, he will earn $49.2 million in the upcoming season, and $50 million in the season after that. Then in the 2026-27 season, he will earn $50.3 million. Despite this reduction, the pay would still allow the player to be the 9th highest-paid NBA athlete of the 2024-25 season.

When he joined the LA Clippers in 2019, the two-time NBA champion was offered a maximum contract of 4 years, $176.26 million. While his yearly pay would be higher during the upcoming seasons, Leonard’s contract would expire within three years. According to CBS Sports, the player was quite eligible for a four-year extension that would have earned him $223 million over the period. In light of that belief, his current contract is somewhat of a downgrade. Despite this, he still ranks amongst the highest-paid players of the modern NBA.

Clippers Luxury Tax Details

With Kawhi Leonard’s pay confirmed, ten players from the LA Clippers’ roster are now under guaranteed contracts. At the same time, the expected pay of star players James Harden and Derrick Jones Jr. is still in the ‘estimated’ category, currently standing at $33.6 million and $10 million, respectively, for the upcoming season. This is good news since it places the Clippers $6.6 million under the Luxury Tax limit and $13.9 million under the first apron.

The latest Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) guidelines released by the NBA back in July 2023 impose new restrictions on franchises that cross the Luxury Tax and the ‘Aprons’ limits. Set at $165 million, any NBA team spending more than the Luxury Tax limit on players’ salaries would face severe penalties.

Spending $1 over the limit during the 2024-25 season can impose a fine of $1.25 for the franchises. Repeat taxpayers will incur $2.5. The penalties will only increase during the 2025-26 season, as standard taxpayers will have to give $2.5 while repeat taxpayers will have to pay $3.5.

Crossing the first apron limit, set at $178.132 million, would cause teams not to take in more money than what is being traded out, and bar them from signing a player waived during the regular season if his salary surpasses the season’s mid-level exception.

Currently, franchises like the Phoenix Suns and the Boston Celtics are attempting to figure out how to get out of this dilemma. The same is far from the worries of the Clippers. However, problems may arise for them in the future, as six of their players are currently eligible to receive an extension. While Derrick Jones Jr. was retained as the Clippers used a large portion of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception, keeping the rest may cause them to go over the imposed restrictions.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about the Lakers legend’s infamous feud with the late Kobe Bryant.