Malcolm Brogdon second highest paid player in Indiana Pacers history
Recently acquired Malcolm Brogdon will now be the second highest paid member of the Indiana Pacers in team history in terms of yearly salary.
It was one of the most hectic starts to NBA free agency in recent memory for the Indiana Pacers as roster staples Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic both left for different organizations and likely bigger paychecks than what Indy was willing to part with. In the midst of all of this, two others were brought to the team in order to take on huge roles in this re-tooled roster. Jeremy Lamb agreed to a deal, and Malcolm Brogdon came over in a sign-and-trade from the Bucks.
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Brogdon’s deal in particular was substantial. He’s the most high-profile, high-upside type guy the Indiana Pacers have brought on in recent years, and the money thrown into this deal reflects that. His contract is reported to be for $85 million spread across the next four years. This upcoming season, that is enough to make him the second highest paid Pacer in team history.
Victor Oladipo is currently on a contract that makes him number one in this regard, as he makes a flat $21 million per season. Brogdon’s deal technically averages out to more than this number per year, but according to Spotrac, his yearly pay will increase season to season, unlike Oladipo’s, which stays exactly at $21 million the whole time. In comparison, it looks like Brogdon will pull in about $19.8 million for his upcoming efforts in 2019-2020.
This number puts Malcolm Brogdon at a higher salary than Paul George, who topped out around $18.3 million in his last season with the Indiana Pacers. Myles Turner is next on the list as his new contract extension that kicks in this year puts him at $18 million flat. Other high salaries of note include Roy Hibbert at just shy of $15 million, and Thad Young not too far behind at $14.8 million.
Call it the Pacers Tax, the Restricted Free Agent Tax, the “Pry Him Away from Milwaukee Tax,” or whatever else you want to, but Malcolm Brogdon was never going leave his situation for cheap. In the context of these other Pacers’ contracts of past, this might seem like an overpay. But Brogdon is a perfect fit next to Oladipo, and with the cap rising year after year, this is right around market value for a player like him.
If Victor Oladipo decides to leave the team once his current deal is up in a couple of years, that would allow Brogdon to become the highest paid Pacer ever once his money spikes over $21 million per season in 2021-2022. More likely, however, is that Oladipo will either agree on an extension or sign a new deal in unrestricted free agency that gets him well above Brogdon’s current contract.
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It’s still clearly yet to be seen if Malcolm Brogdon can live up to the hype of being one of the Indiana Pacers’ highest paid players ever, but he’s worth it on paper. It will now be up to him to prove Kevin Pritchard right and help Vic, Myles, Domas, and friends finally get over the hump in the Eastern Conference.