Reason Two: Kawhi Can Get The Most Money in Toronto
As much as we all like to pretend players worry about their legacies and the on the court product, that’s not the whole story. These men are out there trying to earn the most money possible and staying with Toronto does just that for Kawhi.
By trading for him last summer, the Raptors inherited Kawhi’s Bird Rights. This does a couple of things for them. First, they can re-sign him over the soft cap. This is how they can keep the whole team together. Secondly, they can offer him one more contract year then any other team can.
According to projections of max level contracts next season, this equates to almost a $50 million difference.
By re-signing with the Raptors, Leonard can earn somewhere in the ballpark of $189,660,000 over the next five seasons. Comparatively, signing with the Clippers only nets him $140,610,000 over four seasons.
Re-signing accomplishes two things for players. They get more money and an extra guaranteed year. For someone who has injury history and given what we just witnessed happening in the Finals with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, getting more guaranteed years is never a bad thing.
Some of you might argue that $50 million isn’t really that much in the grand scheme of things when talking about this contracts coupled with sponsorships these players have, but no one got rich by taking less money.