Ben Simmons reportedly files grievance against 76ers to recoup $20 million salary
Ben Simmons, now of the Brooklyn Nets, has reportedly filed a grievance against his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers, to recoup $20 million in salary the Sixers withheld from him during his long standoff with the team.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Ramona Shelburne and Bobby Marks, Simmons filed the grievance late last week.
The Sixers had been withholding Simmons' salary since before the current season started. He'd been fined for not showing up to training camp and missing a preseason game, but the team stopped withholding his salary when Simmons reportedly told them he didn't feel "mentally ready" to play for the team he'd vowed to never play for again. The team eventually resumed fining him, in part due to Simmons reportedly refusing to give the Sixers updates on his progress with mental health treatment. According to Shelburne, the Sixers had fined him over $19 million by Feb. 1.
ESPN reported that the outcome of this grievance could have "larger league implications amid future issues of mental health matters and NBA contracts."
Salary deductions continued after Nets trade
The Sixers have been deducting fines from Simmons' salary since he received his first paycheck of the season. Simmons, who signed a five-year, $170 million max extension with the team in 2019, was set to make $33 million this season. According to ESPN, he received a $16.5 million advance on his salary before the season began, so there wasn't enough to cover the $360,000 fine per missed game in each of his paychecks. And Simmons' trade to the Nets on Feb. 10 reportedly didn't stop the deductions.
Minus the amount for escrow that was withheld by the NBA, the 76ers had been withholding nearly $1.3 million of Simmons' salary in each of his paycheck. That's continued since the trade to the Nets, who are made to deduct salary from Simmons' pay to wire to the 76ers, sources said. Because Simmons' last paycheck is on April 30, the deductions should carry over to the offseason.
There is a potential snafu for Simmons. The collective bargaining agreement states that grievances must be filed within 30 days of the triggering event or when the facts became known. Simmons was traded over six weeks ago, which is outside of the 30-day window. However, Simmons' management team reportedly believes that the trade is not the triggering event since the Sixers have been withholding his salary continually since the beginning of the season.
