Jaylen Brown inked the largest deal in NBA history last week. He will collect an estimated $304 million over five years once it kicks in after next season.
Interestingly, though, Brown and the Celtics didn’t opt for a player option in the last year –which would have allowed Brown to look for a bigger deal one year earlier. Instead, they settled on a trade kicker.
A trade kicker (officially called a trade bonus) is a stipulation in a contract that increases a player’s salary if he is traded. High-caliber players like to have them because it makes them harder to move, and compensates them more if they are.