Meyers Leonard Contract Salary: Heat Star Earned $59M In 9 NBA Seasons

Meyers Leonard announced Tuesday that he’ll be taking a break from playing professional basketball. The move comes after the Miami Heat player was caught using an anti-Jewish slur while playing “Call of Duty” on live stream. Here’s how much he has made as an NBA star so far.

Leonard’s projected salary for the 2020-21 season is $9.4 million, making him the fifth best-paid player of the Miami Heat this year, USA Today’s HoopsHype reported. The figure puts the NBA star’s nine-season career earnings at around $59.4 million, per Spotrac.

The 29-year-old was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 11th overall pick in 2012 and spent his first seven seasons with the team before being traded to the Heat in 2019. Last offseason, Leonard signed a two-year, $19.5 million contract with Miami.

Married to Elle Leonard, he purchased a 6,819-square-foot mansion in the Bay Point neighborhood of Miami, Florida, in early February, according to Biz Journals. The couple bought the estate for $7.78 million. It features seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a swimming pool and a dock with a boat lift.

The Miami Heat center had been on a break before his latest controversy. He is recuperating after undergoing surgery for a shoulder injury he sustained on Jan. 9 during a game against the Washington Wizards.

After the successful operation, he updated his worried fans and the basketball community through his official Twitter account. He tweeted, “I’m blessed in so many ways and I will come back stronger from this. Thankful for a successful surgery and for everyone’s continued support.”

However, the NBA star was soon embroiled in another controversy after videos of him using a term spewing hate against the Jewish community circulated online, per NBA.com. The basketball player was quick to own up to his mistake and posted an apology letter.

In its official statement posted on Twitter, the management of the Miami Heat said they “vehemently condemn the use of any form of hate speech.”

“The words used by Meyers Leonard were wrong and we will not tolerate hateful language from anyone associated with our franchise. To hear it from a Miami Heat player is especially disappointing and hurtful,” the statement continued.

The controversy marks the second time Leonard has found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. He was among the NBA players who refused to kneel while the American or the Canadian anthem was played in 2020, per NBA.com. Kneeling is a sign of support for the Black community and culture.