NBA Rumors: Zion Williamson Contract Receives Unflattering Update

The guaranteed money Zion Williamson initially was expected to receive reportedly has been taken away due to his health and weight.

Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, agreed to a five-year contract with $197 million fully guaranteed. However, the New Orleans Pelicans have triggered a clause in the contract that turned his future guarantees in 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 to non-guaranteed, as reported Thursday by The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov.

The Pelicans were able to do so after Williamson played only 29 games last season. By missing more than 22 games last season, the 23-year-old big man triggered the clause. The Athletic reported the Pelicans have the ability to waive Williamson after the 2024-25 campaign with no financial ramifications.

There was another unflattering detail to surface in the report.

"Beyond the shift for the final three years of the deal, Williamson is at risk of losing even more in guarantees if he doesn’t hit certain marks during regular checks of his weight and body fat," Vorkunov wrote. "Under the contract, the sum of Williamson's weight in pounds and his body fat percentage must be less than 295. He was listed as weighing 285 pounds last season, meaning his body fat could not be higher than 10 percent."

Nola.com's Christian Clark reported on the de-escalator tied to Williamson's weight in July 2022, as well.

Williamson's weight and conditioning have become a talking point on national shows. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has criticized Williamson for his appetite. NBA analysts like Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley also have talked about Williamson being out of shape.

There are ways for Williamson to earn back the guarantees, Vorkunov wrote. They are tied to playing time and hitting specific weigh-in checkpoints. Vorkunov wrote the complexity of Williamson's contract is "highly unusual," but said other NBA players have contracts with injury-related and playing-time protections, as well.