New details have arrived on the five-year maximum contract extension signed earlier this month by Pelicans star power forward Zion Williamson.
The 2020 All-Star, who has famously struggled to maintain his weight since arriving in the NBA as the top draft pick out of Duke in 2019, will be required to undergo regular weigh-ins, reports Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
According to Clark, if the sum of Williamson’s weight and body fat percentage does not come in below 295, New Orleans will have the ability to reduce the guarantee on his salary.
Clark notes that Williamson’s deal could pay him as much as $231MM, should he qualify for a 2023 All-NBA Team or be named the Defensive Player of the Year or MVP next season. If he doesn’t meet the Rose Rule criteria, it will be worth $193MM. Those figures are based on current cap projections for 2023/24, which is when Zion’s new deal will go into effect.
Clark adds that Williamson’s body weight and overall consistent fitness have been an issue for the Pelicans throughout his three-year NBA tenure.
The former No. 1 overall pick entered the NBA weighing a listed 284 pounds in 2019. After fracturing the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in the summer of 2021, Williamson’s conditioning was impacted, and he checked into team training camp at a figure beyond 300 pounds. He did not suit up for a single game during the 2021/22 season.
As Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report notes (Twitter link), a hypothetical decrease in Williamson’s guaranteed salary would only be relevant if the Pelicans eventually decide to waive him or trade him (for salary-matching purposes). As long as he plays out his full five-year contract without being cut, he’ll still earn his full salary for all five seasons.
So Zion you can get 213M if you keep yourself tight, or like 210M if you want to eat a ton of cheeseburgers.
Your choice bro.
Show up to training camp looking like the Michelin Man and you’ll pay the price – literally.
I choose burgers, all day
Where do you get your $213MM and $210MM figures?
The max contract is $231MM and I haven’t seen the $210 figure.
Zion Williamson’s max contract contains ‘weight clause’ where he’ll lose money if not below 295 pounds
This is insane. What’s he going to do at 295lbs. Rip both his knees like he ripped his Nikes……. He’s never going to last in NBA playing over 260. I would of had the clause at 255 LBs. With a personal chef.
Well it’s combined total of weight and body fat %. So if he’s 30% body fat he could only way 264lbs. That being said I doubt he’s got 30% body fat so the weight is still a bit to high
Its sum of body fat percentage and weight.
With 30 percent body fat percentage he can only weigh 265 pounds.
With 20 percent body fat percentage, which he should maximum have, that’s 275 pounds.
With 10 percent body fat percentage, the ideal target, he is even allowed to have 285 pounds.
Good incentive to transform fat into muscles.
Reading is fundamental.
“If the combined total of his body fat percentage and weight does not clock in below 295, New Orleans will be able to lessen his guaranteed salary”.
I’m fairly sure it is (effectively) around 255 lbs.
No male athlete his age should have a BFP of much greater than 15%. So, if he’s around 255 lbs or under, he’ll likely hit the mark. 255 lbs +38 lbs (0.15 x 255) = 293 lbs. Weight alone can be misleading particularly for a big bodied guy. BFP is more universal.
It’s 255/0.85 = 300 lbs if the nonfat part weighs 255 and he has 15% body fat.
That’s a different formula from the one stated.
Zion is a beast, beasts have to eat
His next contact will be $12mil per year
Somehow I don’t the player’s union is going to agree to a $12 million supermax in the new collective bargaining agreement.
Paying a player to stay in top physical condition enabling him to fulfill his contract hes not motivated to fulfill of his own volition is ludicrous. A big man with foot issues makes its plain stupid, in my opinion.
Agreed, this is your going to end well for New Orleans or Zion…
When he entered the league with 285lbs, he’s about only 8.5% body fat. He’s an extraordinary beast that people should notice, but I think most people doesn’t.
I read all these comments on Zion articles and it makes me think you all want the kid to fail.
The same thing happened with Embiid, everybody criticized his work ethic after his two foot injuries yet he’s gone on to become a perennial MVP candidate.
There’s an underlying reason for it that nobody likes addressing. It rhymes with “hacism”.
Need a tissue?
It’s called being a realist. You must be new to the NBA
US is top 10-15 in obesity rate in the world. This country’s culture is set up to make you fat. Not surprising that athletes would struggle just like the non pro athletes.
For every Joel Embiid there’s like 5 Greg Odens.
They should have traded him to Nets for Durant.
Or give him this money from Pels to play for Saints.
Could you imagine Aaron Donald being 6 inches taller?
Does Jokic have one of those, too?
Nah, Jokic plays
If Charles Barkley could get his weight down to 250 for 10 years of his career 35 years ago knowing Barkley’s penchant for food, Zion with all the benefits of being a modern pro athlete has no excuse but to get in shape. Having a foot injury is not an excuse to put on 30 pounds. You adjust your diet and exercise whilst not being able to use your foot.
So he’s gonna earn the equivalent of a small island-country per capita GDP if he works out enough? Pretty wild…
Show me a “small island country”… heck, any country… with a GDP of $231 million per capita and I’ll show you paradise.
Adding new meaning to the term “fat pockets”.
Funny you all think the joints know the difference. 290 is 290 worth of torque. Never last …….
It’s amazing to me. Weight is even an issue or discussion for a basketball player.