“Lionel Messi, that’s insane”: Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and other NBA stars react to the GOAT’s massive 4-year $674 million contract

Advait Jajodia | 02/07/2021
"Lionel Messi, that's insane": Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and other NBA stars react to the GOAT's massive 4-year $674 million contract

Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and other NBA stars are left speechless after learning that soccer icon Lionel Messi had the largest contract in sports history.

In this day and age, professional athletes earn surreal amounts of money. Not only earning off their salary but mainly through several commercials and various other deals.

Even amongst athletes, NBA players are dominating the charts by being the most-paid sportsmen in the world. Looking at how important superstars are for their respective teams and league, their massive contracts are pretty justifiable.

According to Forbes, 3 NBA superstars – LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, grace the top 11 highest-paid athletes for 2021. One would naturally assume that the largest-ever sports contract would be given to an NBA or F1 or a boxer.

However, recently it was disclosed that soccer icon Lionel Messi had earned a whopping $674 million over the last 4 years, playing for the La Liga club Barcelona, in Spain.

Since signing this massive contract back in 2017, Barcelona won 2 Spanish League Championships, 2 Copa del Reys, 1 Spanish Super Cup among many more. Considered to be one of the GOATs of football, the Argentinian superstar’s illustrious resume justifies why he is paid tons of money to play for his club.

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“I gotta put my kids in Futbol”: Kevin Durant and other NBA stars react to Lionel Messi’s contract

Compared to Messi’s jaw-dropping contract, several big NBA megastars’ contracts look minuscule. For instance, Milwaukee Bucks MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo recently signed a 5-year contract worth $228 million, making roughly $46 million/year of his contract. The 34-year-old 6-time FIFA Ballon d’Or makes an incredible $168 million a year.

Recently, Leo became a free agent after his four-year deal expired. And the details of the past contract were given out. After learning what the Barcelona forward earned, several NBA superstars including Kevin Durant were left speechless.

Also Read: Kevin O’Connor believes the Clippers superstar could team up with Luka Doncic this offseason

Of course, it’s going to be a while before we witness the signing of another sports contract bigger than this Lionel Messi one.

Post Edited By: Amulya Shekhar
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Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia, an NBA and Tennis journalist for The SportsRush, has had a passion for both sports for over a decade. His admiration for Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, and Rafael Nadal pushed him to gain a profound understanding of the sports. With a background as a multi-sport athlete, Advait uses his experience on the hardwood and the court to offer insightful analysis. Over four years of dedicated sports journalism has equipped the 22-year-old with a unique perspective, reflected in his prolific portfolio of 4,700+ articles.

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