Miami — Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups will not receive their salaries while they remain away from their teams because of federal gambling charges, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Rozier’s 2025-26 salary of approximately $26.6 million will be placed in escrow, the sources said. If the 31-year-old guard is cleared and reinstated by the NBA, he would be paid the full amount retroactively. Billups, whose contract is worth $7 million this season, will not have his pay held in escrow and will forfeit salary until the FBI case is resolved, according to the sources.
Tax lien dispute
Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, said Wednesday that a federal tax lien filed against the player in November 2023 has already been satisfied. The Internal Revenue Service document listed an “unpaid balance of assessment” of $8,218,211.70 for the 2021 tax year, when Rozier played for the Charlotte Hornets. Trusty contends the true outstanding amount was only about $9,000 and that the lien, though settled, has not yet been removed from Broward County records.
County officials did not immediately comment, and an IRS revenue officer could not be reached. Public records show Rozier’s property taxes on his Broward County home, located roughly 30 miles from the Heat’s arena, are current.
Details of federal case
Rozier, Billups and nearly three dozen others were arrested last week in two separate indictments. Prosecutors allege Rozier conspired with associates to profit from wagers tied to his statistical performance in a March 23, 2023 game while he was with the Hornets. Rozier played limited minutes that night, and bettors who took “under” propositions on his points, rebounds and assists won.
The allegations mirror those that led to former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter’s lifetime NBA ban in 2024. Rozier missed the final eight contests of the 2022-23 season because of a foot injury, and sportsbooks had previously flagged unusual betting activity involving his props. An NBA investigation at the time found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing; unlike federal investigators, the league lacks subpoena power.
League and congressional scrutiny
The NBA said this week it is reviewing how publicly available injury information is disseminated. Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz, the ranking Republican on the Commerce Committee, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, the panel’s top Democrat, have asked commissioner Adam Silver for details on the league’s handling of the Rozier probe and why the guard was allowed to continue playing after initial concerns arose.
Rozier was placed on leave hours after his Oct. 23 arrest. Billups, 48, is in his fourth season coaching Portland.
Source: ESPN
