Beyond the impact it’s already had on his image, Ja Morant’s off-court controversies are also having a profound effect on his wallet.
Appearing on First Take following the news of Morant’s suspension, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst estimated that at this point, Morant is looking at least $50 million in losses. Morant has been suspended for 25 games without pay, to go along with the eight games he was suspended for during the 2022-23 NBA season.
“There is no doubt in my mind that he would’ve been All-NBA, had he not had this incident last season,” Windhorst said Friday morning. “He didn’t make the All-NBA. That cost him $40 million in bonus money. It might even be closer to $60 million, not to mention the potential lost business with sponsors.”
Of course, Windshort is referring to Morant’s endorsement deals with Nike and Powerade, which are obviously in jeopardy now due to him being suspended a second time for his repeated missteps including brandishing a firearm on Instagram twice in three months.
In Morant’s personal statement, he noted to his sponsors that he would be a “better representation of our brands.”
That very well may be true, but it remains to be seen if those respective sponsors will allow him to repair his image. Morant has now lost more money than Charles Barkley made during his entire NBA career, as his missteps have now cost him significant financial losses.
[Ben Koo on Twitter; photo from Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.