30 richest players in the NBA
By John Buhler
Rudy Gay
Small Forward, Sacramento Kings
One player that has been able to negotiate sizable second and third contracts in the NBA is Sacramento Kings small forward Rudy Gay. The 30-year-old, 10-year NBA veteran has been able to $115,619,870 during his so-so NBA career.
Since coming into the league in the 2006 NBA Draft, Gay has almost always been a good player on a bad team. He was traded draft night to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he played his first six NBA seasons.
Gay would sign a two-year, $4.65 million deal out of Connecticut. Memphis would extend its team option in both 2007 and 2008 for $2.6 and $3.28 million, respectively. The Grizzlies made him a qualifying offer during his fourth year in the league, tabbing him as a restricted free agent.
In summer 2010, Gay would make the bulk of his money with a five-year deal worth $82.3 million. Gay would twice be traded on this contract in 2013. He would leave Memphis for the Toronto Raptors in January 2013 and would move again to the Kings in December of that year.
Gay would exercise his 2014 player option worth $19.3 million with the Kings. In November 2014, Gay would sign a three-year veteran extension worth $40 million. While he was probably going to opt out of his deal this summer, look for Gay to stick with the Kings to make that $14.2 million in Sacramento. This has to do with him rupturing his Achilles’ more than anything.
Overall, Gay has prioritized making money on bad teams that winning basketball games. His track record has shown that he doesn’t walk away from the money that is being given to him. If he opts into the final year of Kings contract, Gay will stand to have made $129,883,436 in 11 NBA seasons.