Ever since he led Murray State to a resounding first-round upset victory over Mississippi State in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Ja Morant seemed destined for stardom. The Memphis Grizzlies made him the second overall pick in that year's NBA Draft. He won Rookie of the Year the following season and led the Grizzlies to the playoffs in his second year. The next season, the team reached the Western Conference semifinals and entered this year with championship aspirations.
He signed a $193 million maximum Designated Rookie extension last summer. The contract could ultimately be worth $233 million with a variety of incentives.
According to the terms of his contract, Ja could earn those additional tens of millions he he wins MVP or Defensive Player of the Year or is named to an All-NBA Team this season. Those incentives are almost certainly off the table right now.
As you likely know, Ja has been the subject of a number of controversies in recent months.
- On March 4, 2023, Morant was in an Instagram Live video that appeared to show him brandishing a gun in a Denver-area strip club. The NBA suspended Morant for eight games for conduct detrimental to the league.
- Just a few days ago Ja appeared in ANOTHER Instagram Live video in which he appears to be brandishing a gun.
These weren't even Morant's first controversial incidents. He's also been accused of punching a teenage opponent in a pickup basketball game, intimidating a mall security guard, and being in an SUV that trained a laser toward the Indiana Pacers team bus — which, according to one member of the Pacers' security team, was "100 percent a gun."
The blow-back from these combined incidents has almost certainly cost Ja Morant the bonus money. In other words, just in terms of NBA salary alone, Ja Morant has cost himself the difference between $233 million and $193 million, AKA…
$38 million
That's roughly the price of a brand new Gulfstream G450 or Bombardier Global 5000.
Poof. Vaporized into thin air.
The next shoe to drop (pun intended) is Nike.
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Powerade
On March 1, 2023, just THREE DAYS before the first gun video was made public, Ja signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Powerade. The deal made Ja the new face of Powerade and called for him to appear in countless commercials, billboards and store displays. When the deal was announced, Powerade said it would spend $10 MILLION on national TV commercials, digital ads and radio spots.
After the first gun incident… JUST DAYS AFTER THE DEAL WAS ANNOUNCED… Powerade paused all advertisements featuring Ja.
Nike
The biggest brand to keep an eye on would be Nike.
Ja signed a multi-year contract with Nike in 2019 that pays him $12 million a year.
Nike released a signature Morant shoe in December. Ja is one of only FIVE players in the league with a signature shoe deal from Nike.
In April 2023 Nike released a second shoe, the Ja 1 "hunger."
Before this recent gun incident the shoe giant publicly backed the Grizzlies guard. On Thursday, May 17, Nike removed his shoes from its website and app.
Let's assume Ja's Powerade deal pays at least $10 million per year. Add that to the $12 million he's making from Nike and you have $22 million earned from these two deals alone.
When combined with his $33 million 2023 base salary, Ja should easily be making $55 million per year.
If these recent controversies cause Nike and Powerade to drop Ja citing morals clauses, when combined with the $38 million lost NBA contract milestone money, Ja Morant's total losses would be…
$60 million
That's enough for a brand new Gulfstream G450 or Bombardier Global 5000 PLUS plenty of money left over for gas and accommodations at 5-star hotels around the world that you fly to with an entourage of a dozen friends. JUST DON'T BRING ANY GUNS!
To his credit, after the first gun video Morant said he was taking time away "to get help" and took "full responsibility" for his "terrible mistake." He's 23 years old and has already made millions of dollars while dealing with the pressure of being a budding NBA star and one of the faces of the league. Morant may not have realized the gravity of what he was doing; hopefully, his time away helps him move forward.
On the other hand, Charles Barkley recently put Ja's situation into a really succinct and accurate perspective. Speaking on his NBA on TNT show, Barkley said:
"You're not a thug. You're not a criminal. You're not a crook. You're making $200 million a year to dribble a stupid basketball. You hit the lottery! You have to look in the mirror and say 'You know what? Maybe I'm the problem."
