Damian Lillard signed a contract extension with the Portland Trail Blazers – that makes his career earnings a whopping $450 million when he turns 36.
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Should Damian Lillard be paid top dollar? Absolutely. Is he worth the 2-year, 122 million contract extension? Probably so. To Portland at least, he is. They haven’t had a guy like Lillard for the longest time, and they have been trying to build a project around him since he won Rookie of the Year. With his current extension, he will have made 50 million short of half a billion dollars just in salaries.
That puts him at a total career earning above LeBron James. Yes, the 4-time champion, 4-time Finals MVP has career earnings lesser than a man who has a lone RoTY trophy. Is he worth 100 million more than arguably the greatest player of all time? That is very subjective because Dame is probably the greatest Trail Blazer of the last 20 years.
To a normal fan, he may be one of the most overpaid stars, with no end product delivered for the price they’ve paid for him, but to the team, it is their way of thanking him. Another player would have demanded a trade years ago, but Lillard has stuck to his team from day 1. He was treated right, and not like DeMar DeRozan or Isaiah Thomas, getting traded as their reward for loyalty.
Damian Lillard may end his career without a ring – but his bank account will have a lot of zeroes
The times have changed over the last 10 years because we are going to see more players reach the 500 million mark in salaries. This year alone we’ve seen multiple 200 million extensions, and they are still in their prime years. Out of them, none of them have won a ring yet – yet their teams value them so highly. Will Nikola Jokic or Bradley Beal ever win a championship? They may, but they just hit the jackpot.
The game of Basketball is cruel – 400 something players fight for 1 trophy. But that is what makes the game we know great – the emotions run high come playoffs. Legenda have gone their whole careers without getting one, and there are role players who no one will remember with multiple championships. Life may be cruel in terms of achievements, but every single player gets paid.
How much they get paid depends on how much they contribute. Some may end up like Damian Lillard, while the others may end up like Delonte West. LeBron is a billionaire, but Dame made his DOLLA.
