12/22/24
June 20, 2003
Grant Hill, whose oft-injured ankle has become the Orlando Magic's Achilles heel, is already out for next season. As Florida Today reports, "since signing a seven-year, $92.88 million contract in August of 2000, Hill has played in just 47 of a possible 246 games."
posted by rcade to basketball at 06:50 AM - 9 comments
This is ridiculous, there should be a clause in all of their contracts in case of injury, reducing their payout.
posted by insomnyuk at 10:16 AM on June 20, 2003
adding/allowing a clause like that is something i could imagine the player's union resisting/prohibiting. case: team: our injured player (eg grant hill) is costing us a crapload of money. let's get rid of him. grant hill: no, i'm fine, give me more time (and keep paying me) team: no, our doctors say you can't play. you're cut, we're gonna save the money grant hill: no really, i can play, give me time. doctors: no, you can't. team: thanks, doctors. grant, see ya.
posted by gspm at 10:21 AM on June 20, 2003
$13.279 million will ease the sting of any rehab, but I still feel bad for Hill. He's a great player, and it must be hard for him to sit on a bench during his prime years.
posted by dusted at 10:57 AM on June 20, 2003
Bad week for former Duke players, Jason Williams was in a bad motorcycle accident that leaves his career in jeopardy as well.
posted by corpse at 11:12 AM on June 20, 2003
The Magic have consistently been screwed by a combination of bad luck and poor decisions. Grant Hill's lack of a career (if he'd stay healthy, he'd likely be a HOF lock) is just another in the list of ways that this franchise has dug itself deeper and deeper into the abyss.
posted by Ufez Jones at 12:11 PM on June 20, 2003
Some numbers: "since signing a seven-year, $92.88 million contract in August of 2000, Hill has played in just 47 of a possible 246 games." So through the end of this year, he'll have made approx. $53 million of his money. That's $1.129 million a game. Assuming 38 mins a game, that's $29,716 a minute. I know it's probably a faulty assumption that he's getting paid the exact same every year, but it made the calculation a bit easier. Even if my per minute number is off a bit, still, wow.
posted by Ufez Jones at 04:12 PM on June 20, 2003
Ufez: what's really crazy is that your per-minute number is off by about 25%- last year he only played 29 mpg, and the seasons before that 33 and 36 minutes (for 4 and 14 games, respectively.) So your final number is probably a bit off. vito: in the NFL, at least, 'guaranteed' contracts mean nothing of the sort, and I believe in the MLB they're pretty weak as well. I'm pretty sure the NBA has the strongest meaning of 'guaranteed' of any of the leagues. corpse: the Williams incident reminded all the Duke fans I know of Bobby Hurley, who was never the same after his near-death experience. I hope Jason can come back, but we're just hoping he can walk again first.
posted by tieguy at 07:42 AM on June 21, 2003
Guaranteed contracts in MLB ARE guaranteed. There is nothing the team can do to get out from under them except to trade the player or find some loophole to render it null/void (an example would be Jeff Kent riding a motorcycle even though it is expressly forbidden in his contract). Most teams have injury insurance taken out on their high-priced player, but that's starting to change. Albert Belle ("retired" from baseball for the past 3 seasons because of degenerative hip disorder) is still listed on Baltimore's 40-man roster strictly for insurance purposes. The insurance will pay for most of his salary while he is on the "disabled list" and on the roster. When Tampa Bay ditched Greg Vaughn at the start of the season (outright released him), they were still on the hook for the remainder of his insanely huge salary. Guaranteed = gonna get paid unless you retire or die
posted by grum@work at 10:29 PM on June 21, 2003
Isn't it time for the NBA, MLB, and NHL to join the NFL and get rid of the guaranteed contracts? It's inconceiveable to me that the Magic be forced to pay this contract when the guy can't contribute at all. Can somebody smarter than me explain this from the linked article? the Magic intended to apply to the NBA for an injury exception. Such a salary exception would give the Magic $4.8 million in salary cap space to spend on a free agent or take back in a trade. But doing so will put the Magic over the NBA's luxury tax threshold, which last season was $52.4 million, and trigger a penalty that could cost them approximately $10 million to $12 million. So which is it? Does the injury exception count against the luxury tax threshold or doesn't it? Or is the article speculating that the Magic will spend above and beyond the injury exception amount and that is why they'll pay the penalty? Somebody hope me!