Jimmy Butler faced some mockery and backlash when he left the Philadelphia 76ers to join the Miami Heat. Some claimed he’d never win a ring in South Beach with that roster.
But Butler has actually gone further into the playoffs than the Sixers since he arrived in South Beach, even making it to the NBA Finals twice in just four years with the team.
Butler is the undisputed alpha dog in Erik Spoelstra’s team. And as such, he’s going to demand a steep payday, with Heat writer Ira Winderman predicting that he could ask for more money than Jaylen Brown got from the Boston Celtics.
Jimmy Butler Could Fetch Historically Lucrative Deal
“And what likely will have Jimmy Butler asking for an extension soon enough, in essence asking for something even beyond Jaylen Brown money,” Winderman wrote.
“The numbers are numbing: $52.4 million in 2024-25, $56.6 million in 2025-26, $60.8 million in 2026-27, $64.9 million in 2027-28 and $69.1 million in 2028-29,” Winderman wrote. “So, yes, the 82-game NBA is on the brink of $1 million per-game salaries.”
At the end of the day, that’s just the way things go in the league. What looks like a crazy deal one day it’s a bargain the other. It won’t be long before that happens with Brown’s contract.