Terry Rozier lost his entire $26.6 million salary after an arbitrator ruled he breached his contract with the Miami Heat due to his involvement in a gambling scandal.
Terry Rozier will lose his entire $26.6 million salary for the 2025-26 season after an arbitrator sided with the Miami Heat in his contract dispute.
The ruling was related to his alleged involvement in a vast federal sports gambling scheme that has been unraveling since his arrest in October.
According to the arbitrator’s ruling, Rozier violated his contractual obligations to the team and the conditions of his pretrial release prevented him from fulfilling those obligations.
This is where things get worse. In addition to the original charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, Rozier is facing new federal charges of sports bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.
Prosecutors say he accepted a $100,000 bribe to leave a March 2023 game early while playing for the Charlotte Hornets and tipped off a group of bettors that he planned to leave because of an injury.
Each of his original charges carried a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and federal prosecutors estimated he would receive about 2 years in prison when sentenced.
He has pleaded not guilty to all crimes and is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges next week.
The pretrial release conditions that triggered the arbitration ruling prohibit Rozier from contacting anyone with the Heat or Hornets, including players, coaches and medical staff.
His attorney, Jim Trusty, filed a motion asking the court to remove the Hornets from his no-contact list so Rozier can enter free agency this month.
Trusty believes that without this change, Rozier will not be able to sign with any NBA team, thus constituting another breach of contract on his contract.
The Heat initially paid Rozier his full salary after an arbitrator ruled the league couldn’t place him on unpaid leave, but the team quickly changed its position and stopped paying, leading to a second arbitration hearing in April.
According to NBC News, the arbitrator ultimately sided with the Heat’s position and concluded that Rozier violated his obligations.
Rozier is scheduled to be arraigned next week in Brooklyn federal court on the new charges.
