Troubled Ja Morant LOSES $50 million alongside controversial suspension
Ja Morant could lose up to more than $50 million from his 25-game suspension
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Ja Morant for the Memphis Grizzlies (Image via David Berding/Getty Images)
Following a controversial IG live where Ja Morant was seen brandishing a gun, the league has issued a suspension for the Grizzlies Star. Morant will face a 25-game suspension in the 2023-24 season and will be suspended ‘without-pay’. The Grizzlies‘ point guard will also have to meet certain conditions before he returns to play and will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including preseason games, during the course of his suspension.
Ja Morant’s suspension will be detrimental to the young star’s financial earnings as the incident itself has severed the relationships with his brand sponsors. As per a report from Brian Windhorst the damage might be more than expected: “[Ja Morant] is at least looking at $50M in losses. … It’s as bad of a penalty as we’ve seen in the history of professional sports.”
Ja Morant’s gun incident earlier in March led to an 8-game suspension without pay which also served as the catalyst for him missing out on an All-NBA selection. By missing out on an All-NBA selection, Morant has missed out on $39 million which also led to a drop in his earnings potential as he missed out on his contract clause which is a 5% bonus on the salary cap. Morant is now set to earn $194 million over his five-year contract, with an estimated average annual value of $38.8 million.
The Morant’s first suspension, which lasted eight games, cost him a total of $668,659 and his second suspension of 25 games is projected to be around $7.6 million.
The Point guard’s situation with Powerade and Nike is also not at the best right now as Powerade scraped all of their ads with Morant and Nike briefly removed Ja Morant’s signature shoe “Hunger” colourway from its website in the wake of the second gun-related video being posted on social media and although they have released a statement in support of Ja, the brand has refused to promote him on their social media platforms.
Nike’s statement regarding Morant:
Related: Nike FINALLY CONFIRMS status of Ja Morant’s multi-million dollar future with the brand
Grizzlies to play WITHOUT Ja Morant for 25 games
The Memphis Grizzlies have finished the past two regular NBA seasons with the Western Conference 2nd best record in each of the years, although Ja Morant has missed time with the team for a couple of games due to injuries and an 8-game suspension in March, the team have never been without Morant for as much as what his suspension would be bringing. Through the last two seasons Morant has played 57 games in 2021-22 and 61 games this past season, a 25 suspension can be detrimental to the team’s winning record.
For the Grizzles to even have a fighting chance to be at the top of the western conference, the other Grizzles’ players will have to step up in Morant’s absence. A talent like Ja would be impossible to replace but the team itself is already experienced enough to hold down the fort until the star’s return. Memphis has one of the best bigs in the league in Jaren Jackson Jr. who also won the Defensive Player of the Year award this year and the team would very much need his offensive production to take the next step this upcoming season.
Players like Tyus Jones will have to start in Morant’s point guard spot and production of Ja who averaged 26.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 8.1 apg would be hard to replace but a breakout season from Desmond Bane can be enough to serve as a substitute as the forward have grown to be one of the best shooters in the League.
Ja Morant will be able to make his return around Christmas and would be back in the lineup as soon as possible but it would be tricky for both Ja and the team as the star is not allowed to join any team activities or practices as part of his 25-game suspension.
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Gerard Crispin
(3318 Articles Published)