JULY 17: According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter), Simmons’ extension would have a different starting salary depending on which level of All-NBA team he makes. Based on the figures Marks provides, it looks like Simmons’ starting salary will be worth the following percentage of the cap:
- All-NBA First Team: 30%
- All-NBA Second Team: 29%
- All-NBA Third Team: 28%
- No All-NBA spot: 25%
We’ve updated the chart at the bottom of this story to reflect the new info from Marks.
JULY 16: Ben Simmons‘ new five-year, maximum-salary extension with the Sixers doesn’t feature any options, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). That means the deal, which starts in 2020/21, will run through the 2024/25 season.
Wojnarowski provides two more interesting details on Simmons’ extension, reporting that the deal includes a 15% trade kicker and has Rose Rule language that would increase the value of the contract if he earns a spot on an All-NBA team next season.
The trade kicker means that Simmons will receive a bonus worth 15% of the remaining money on his deal if he’s dealt. However, that bonus can’t push his cap hit beyond the maximum salary, so it likely won’t matter until the later years of the contract.
The Rose Rule language is more interesting. Typically, a maximum-salary deal for a player with Simmons’ years of NBA experience (less than seven) would start at 25% of the cap. However, the Rose Rule allows a player who makes an All-NBA team to earn a starting salary worth up to 30% of the cap instead.
Teams and players can negotiate a starting salary between 25-30% if the player achieves certain performance criteria. For instance, Devin Booker‘s maximum-salary contract with the Suns this season would have started at 27.5% of the cap if he’d been named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2019, 28.5% if he was named to the Second Team, and 30% for a First Team nod. It’s not clear if Simmons and the 76ers got that specific in their negotiations.
Here’s what Simmons’ next contract will look like, based on the NBA’s current cap projections for 2020/21:
| Year |
No All-NBA (25%) |
3rd Team (28%) |
2nd Team (29%) |
1st Team (30%) |
| ’20/21 |
$29,250,000 |
$32,760,000 |
$33,930,000 |
$35,100,000 |
| ’21/22 |
$31,590,000 |
$35,380,800 |
$36,644,400 |
$37,908,000 |
| ’22/23 |
$33,930,000 |
$38,001,600 |
$39,358,800 |
$40,716,000 |
| ’23/24 |
$36,270,000 |
$40,622,400 |
$42,073,200 |
$43,524,000 |
| ’24/25 |
$38,610,000 |
$43,243,200 |
$44,787,600 |
$46,332,000 |
| Total |
$169,650,000 |
$190,008,000 |
$196,794,000 |
$203,580,000 |
