When the Bucks chose to waive and stretch Damian Lillard, it is more than likely that the Suns and Bradley Beal were already deep into negotiations about what a buyout would look like. After a failed big-three attempt, Phoenix had moved Kevin Durant to Houston but were still sitting above the second apron without an obvious path to contention. A buyout for Beal would allow them to duck under that threshold and likely under the luxury tax as well by the end of the year to avoid being a repeater tax team this year.
The problem: Nassir Little and E.J. Liddell. The Suns previously used the stretch provision in 2024 on the remaining $21,750,000 of Little’s contract (seven-year stretch) and $2,120,694 of Liddell’s contract (three-year stretch). According to Article VII, Section 7(d), Paragraph 6(iii)(A) of the CBA:
“In no event shall a Team be permitted to elect to stretch a waived player’s Salary if the portion of the Team’s Team Salary representing all of the Team’s waived players (and any other former players) in any future Salary Cap Year exceeds or as a result of the proposed stretch would exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the Salary Cap in effect during the Salary Cap Year in which the election occurs.”
With the salary cap at $154,647,000 in 2025-2026, the Suns are only allowed to carry $23,197,050 of stretched money (15%). That meant Beal’s contract could remain on the books for up to $19,383,009 for each of the next five years, a total of $96,915,045. But that amount was $13,879,835 less than the $110,794,880 remaining on his contract, including his option year in 2026-2027. Hence, the need for the buyout.
An argument could be made that the Suns would have been better off playing out the rest of Beal’s contract or negotiating buyout but not choosing to stretch the cap hit (they have until the end of August to elect) but it seems like the stretch is the path they have chosen. With that option available, it was up to Beal to decide if he was willing to give that money up, knowing that unlike Lillard’s set-off situation, he would not have any set-off on his next contract as it is typically waived in a buyout as allowed by Article XXVII, Section 4 of the CBA.1
After surveying the market, Beal decided the Clippers remaining portion of their midlevel exception, $5,354,000, was going to be his best option. He signed for a one-plus-one to give himself the option to re-up with Los Angeles in 2026-2027, but that is more of an insurance policy. Ideally, he will be seeking more money next summer.
The Clippers would be able to use his non-bird rights only to bring him back at 120% of this year’s salary but Beal would be better off signing into either the Clippers' or another team’s cap space; however, those opportunities have been limited in recent free agency. The next best bet is to get the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception, which is projected to be about $15,091,280 if the NBA’s projection of a 7% salary cap increase holds true.
If that happens, one narrative you may hear is that Beal made back what he gave up in his buyout and then some. Let’s dive into the financials and evaluate that claim.
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While non-cap related details of player contracts are sometimes hard to come by, Mark Stein explains why it took until July 16th for Beal to accept a buyout when the terms the Suns were willing to offer were clear long before then. Beal was due an advance payment of a quarter of his annual salary, $13,416,568, on July 15th, as described in Article II, Section 3(d)(z) of the CBA.2 His advance could not have been scheduled until at least one week after the end of the July moratorium as stated in Article II, Section 13(f) of the CBA.3
While some have insinuated waiting for this payment was a last shot at the Suns to force them to write Beal a check on his way out the door, this was just good business. Had Beal agreed to the buyout any earlier, that money would have gone into the stretch and been spread over the next five years. That mistake would have cost him $1,680,773 in today’s dollars with our estimate’s default assumptions: 50% take home, 8% investment growth, full escrow return.
Now given that Beal and his agent clearly value getting his money earlier, and since they seem to have been able to negotiate everything under the sun in this deal with the Wizards, I think it’s reasonable for this exercise to assume he was due another quarter of his salary on October 1st as allowed in the clause above. Furthermore, let’s assume Beal is being paid over the course of six months instead of the entire year as allowed in Article II, Section 3(d)(y) of the CBA.4
Does negotiating these early payments really matter? Looking back to when the deal was originally signed with Washington in the summer of 2022, before we knew a stretch was coming, the net present value of the shift from standard to early payments was $4,531,276 in Bradley Beal’s favor. That includes advance payments of 25% each on July 15th and October 1st, twelve semi-monthly payments instead of twenty-four, and escrow payment in a single check rather than across the remainder of the year-long payment schedule.5 But all that goes away once the Suns waived-and-stretched his contract.6
Where does that leave Bradley Beal?
He may not be able to negotiate the same payment schedule with his new teams since it does not seem he will have the same leverage that he once did with the Wizards. If he does indeed sign for the full midlevel exception next year but on a standard payment schedule, he will have lost $2,847,237 in net present value take home pay, as opposed to playing out his contract in Phoenix.7 To break even financially, Beal will need to demand $20,032,772 from a team willing to use their cap space on him next summer.
Of course, there are many non-monetary reasons for him to take the buyout and move on with his career. The situation in Phoenix was clearly not working and the Clippers stand to have a better chance at contention this year. He may even make back some money in playoff or NBA cup bonuses and his long-term contract outlook in 2027-2028 and beyond might be better on this path.
But unless he does entice a team to spend over 20 million dollars on him in 2026-2027, he will have lost out on some value in this buyout, despite what you may hear others say.
If you’ve enjoyed this, you might want to check out the rest of the Summer Stretch Series 2025:
And if you prefer watching instead of reading, I’ve created a companion video that ties it all together — watch it here
“A Team and a player may agree in an amendment to an already-existing Player Contract to modify or eliminate the set-off right provided in this Article XXVII, but only pursuant to and to the extent allowed by Article II, Section 3(p).”
Article II, Section 3(p): “By agreeing upon provisions for the purpose of terminating an already-existing Uniform Player Contract prior to the expiration of its stated term, stating as follows: (i) the Team will request waivers on the player in accordance with Paragraph 16 of the Contract immediately following the Commissioner’s approval of such amendment; and (ii) should the player clear waivers and his Contract thereupon be terminated (x) the amount of any Compensation protection contained in the Contract will immediately be reduced or eliminated, and/or (y) the Team’s right of set-off under Article XXVII of this Agreement will be modified or eliminated.”
“A Uniform Player Contract that, at the time the Contract is signed, is fully or partially protected for lack of skill and injury or illness for a Season may provide for the player to be paid a portion of his Compensation for such Season, up to the Maximum Advance Amount as defined below, prior to November 1 of such Season. The Maximum Advance Amount for a Season shall equal the lesser of eighty percent (80%) of the amount of the player’s Compensation for such Season that is protected for lack of skill and injury or illness, or fifty percent (50%) of the player’s Base Compensation for such Season; provided that no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the player’s Base Compensation for such Season may be paid to the player prior to the October 1 immediately preceding the first day of the Regular Season.”
“No Uniform Player Contract may provide for the payment of any Compensation earned for a Season prior to the first semi-monthly payment date that is at least seven (7) days following the completion of the Audit Report for the Salary Cap Year covering the immediately prior Season.”
“A Uniform Player Contract may provide for the player’s Compensation to be paid in either twelve (12) equal semi-monthly payments or thirty-six (36) equal semi-monthly payments beginning with the first of said payments on November 1 of each year covered by the Contract and continuing with such payments on the first and fifteenth of each month until said Compensation is paid in full”
Article VII, Section 12(c), Paragraph 2 of the CBA: “In the event that, as of the completion of the Governing Audit Report, the Compensation payable to a player pursuant to the Adjustment Contract has already been reduced pursuant to this Section 12(c) by an amount that exceeds the then-applicable Contract Reduction Amount, then such excess shall be paid to the player in equal installments over the remaining semi-monthly payment dates on which payments are due to such player for the applicable Season pursuant to the Adjustment Contract beginning with either the next semi-monthly payment date following the issuance of the Governing Audit Report or, if practicability warrants, the second semi-monthly payment date following the issuance of the Governing Audit Report (or, if there are no remaining payments due to such player for the applicable Season pursuant to the Adjustment Contract, such excess shall be paid to the player within sixty (60) days following the completion of the Governing Audit Report).”
Exhibit 2, Section 2(ii) of the Uniform Player Contract: “The rescheduled payments described above shall be paid over the applicable number of NBA Seasons in equal semi-monthly installments on the pay dates prescribed by Paragraph 3(a) of the Uniform Player Contract.”
That assumes the Suns wouldn’t have waived him outright, but financially that would have been better for Beal too than the buyout.