TITLE: Arbitrator Orders Terry Rozier to Give Up Majority of 2025-26 Salary
SLUG: terry-rozier-ordered-to-forfeit-most-of-2025-26-pay
CONTENT:
Former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier will lose the bulk of the $26.6 million he was set to earn in the 2025-26 NBA season after an arbitrator ruled that legal restrictions prevent him from meeting his contract obligations.
According to documents cited by The Athletic, the decision was issued after the league argued that terms of Rozier’s federal bond bar him from traveling nationwide or communicating with either the Heat or his previous club, the Charlotte Hornets. The arbitrator agreed, concluding those limits make it impossible for the 31-year-old to perform his duties as an NBA player.
Rozier has been on unpaid leave since late October, six days after he was arrested on federal conspiracy charges in an ongoing gambling probe. He has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and was recently hit with additional counts of sports bribery and honest services fraud.
Prosecutors claim Rozier told an acquaintance he would exit a Hornets game on March 28, 2023, after limited playing time. The individual allegedly sold that information to bettors who then profited from “under” wagers on Rozier’s statistical props. Rozier logged five points, four rebounds and two assists in fewer than 10 minutes before leaving with a reported foot issue and never returning.
Earlier this year, the players’ union had won a separate arbitration contesting the league’s move to withhold Rozier’s salary during his unpaid leave. At that time, an arbitrator said only cases involving domestic or child abuse qualified for such action under the collective bargaining agreement. The latest ruling reverses that financial reprieve, focusing instead on the bond conditions that limit Rozier’s availability.
Rozier, waived by Miami in April, is seeking to have the Hornets and their current and former employees removed from his no-contact list so he can pursue free-agency discussions. His attorneys argued that keeping those restrictions would effectively sideline him for a second consecutive season despite the presumption of innocence.
Should Rozier fail to win that request—or be found guilty on any of the charges—his prospects for another NBA contract appear increasingly remote. The league handed center Jontay Porter a lifetime ban in April for a related betting violation.
Source: Hoops Rumors
