Did Ja Morant Lose 8 Million Dollars? Fact-Checking CNN Employee Charles Barkley’s Furious Claim

Ja Morant missing the first 25 games of the 2023–34 season has hurt the Memphis Grizzlies. But how much did it cost the 2x All-Star personally? Charles Barkley recently revealed on CNN that Morant lost millions of dollars as he missed the first two months of the season.

“He got suspended eight games, the first time, and less than a couple of months later he does it again. If your friends are asked to be lost, like 8 million dollars, that’s a lot of money… He is not a nine-to-five guy,” said the Philadelphia 76ers legend when talking about the Ja Morant suspension. But did Morant really lose 8 million dollars for missing 25 games? Let’s dive into the numbers.

Since this is his fifth season in the NBA, Morant is currently on his second NBA deal. Back in 2022, he signed a 5-year, 197 million-dollar rookie max contract extension. This contract started in the 2023–24 season. So Morant would have earned $34 million this season if the NBA had not suspended him.

When Morant was suspended last season for 8 games, the total amount he lost was $668,659 during the duration of the suspension, according to reports from ESPN. But he was still on his rookie contract, and his annual salary was $12.1 million.

Since his max extension has kicked off, Morant has lost 7.6 million dollars for the 25-game suspension. This is more than what Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney makes this entire season.

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Morant has missed 30% of the season, so this can make people wonder why 30% of his salary has not been deducted. This is because of the rules followed by the NBA. Since the suspension is for over 20 games, the amount would be 1/110th of his 2023–24 salary for each game. This is $304,545 for each game missed, making his total for the 25 games come to 7.6 million dollars.

Did the NBA have probable cause to suspend Ja Morant?

Although Morant did not commit any legal crimes, his actions had a serious impact on the NBA. The league can suspend a player if it is deemed true that their actions are negatively affecting the standard and publicity of the NBA. It expects players to portray a certain image to the public. And what Morant did is not something the NBA aligns itself with.

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Thus, in Morant’s case, the NBA decided that 25 games would be appropriate. The only thing that helped the Grizzlies in this is that 50% of the suspended amount will be used as part of the team’s luxury tax giving a minor relief to the organization.

Do you think the 25-game suspension for Morant was deserved? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!