Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving critiques public NBA salaries citing privacy risks like scams and break-ins while slamming media focus on contracts over performance.
Kyrie Irving recently sparked a conversation about whether NBA players’ salaries should be public knowledge.
Kyrie Irving talked on Twitch livestream about how uncomfortable it can be when everyone knows how much money athletes make. He feels like it puts a big spotlight on them and if not sometimes even makes them targets.
He also said that fans and media spend too much time focusing on player salaries instead of looking at deeper financial problems in sports.
All this attention can make things awkward, especially when people treat players differently just because of their contracts.
A father of two kids, Irving, pointed out that while people know how much CEOs of big companies earn, the level of detail about athletes’ pay is on another level. He said:
You know exactly the pay scale, the details of it, and then it gets discussed as though there isn’t any real live consequences to that.
Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving thinks being too open about how much money players make can be risky. It can attract scams, break-ins, or unwanted attention.
He pointed out that some NBA stars like Luka Doncic and DeMar DeRozan have had their homes broken into, which some link to the fact that everyone knows how much money they earn.
Irving also finds it uncomfortable when fans and media dive into personal financial details saying:
When people know what you make and then ask, ‘Hey, how did you get that contract?’ It’s like, bro, that’s personal.
Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving Slams Media for Judging Players by Salaries Instead of Performance!
Beyond privacy concerns, Irving believes the focus on salaries misses the bigger financial picture in sports.
The media loves to hype up “record-breaking” deals, calling them “sexy” for the sport’s growth.
But Irving questions if this is too much information. Fans and analysts often judge players based on their paychecks rather than their performance.
For instance: when Ben Simmons signed a huge five-year, $170 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, fans expected him to play like a star.
But when injuries and other problems affected his performance, that big paycheck became something people used to criticize him.
Instead of showing support, some people got angry especially big names like Shaquille O’Neal. He even said Simmons “needed to go to jail” for not living up to the deal, which shows just how harsh the reactions can be when a player doesn’t meet expectations.
Even stars like LeBron James, who signed a $52.6 million player option, face scrutiny over their contracts despite stellar performances.
Bradley Beal, once praised for his max contract with the Phoenix Suns, was mocked after a $97 million buyout when his play declined.
Irving argues that this focus on money overshadows what players bring to the court and their personal lives.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Kyrie Irving has an estimated net worth of $90 million, amassed primarily from his NBA career.
- Irvings’ parents, Drederick Irving and Elizabeth Ann Irving, are former collegiate athletes at Boston University.
- His father, Drederick, raised him as a single parent after his mother passed away when he was just four.
