Orlando Magic: 5 reasons re-signing Aaron Gordon was the right choice
By Bret Stuter
4. Team-friendly deal
NBA contracts are some of the most creative professional sports contracts anywhere. On one hand, contracts can afford tremendous salary bonuses for the players. On the other hand, those same contracts can offer tremendous flexibility for the NBA team.
Hard to see how the Magic could have done any better with the new deal for Aaron Gordon. He gets paid, but the structure really favors Orlando.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 7, 2018
NBA contracts themselves can make or break a team’s chance at a playoff run. While the original reports of Gordon’s $84 million four-year deal seemed rather pricey at the onset, there is more to the deal than meets the eye.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel uncovered some details of the deal. In short:
"“Gordon will earn base salaries of $21,590,909 this upcoming season, $19,863,636 in 2019-20, $18,136,364 in 2020-21 and $16,409,091 in 2021-22.”"
The report goes on to comment about $1 million from an incentive bonus in each of the four seasons. While all of this adds up to the $84 million price tag, the declining salary and incentives push the burden upon Aaron Gordon to earn the maximum from the deal. The shrinking payout over time gives the Magic an enviable position to trade him should the option become necessary in the future.