Forbes Report Lists Three Memphis Grizzlies Among Highest-Paid Athletes

Forbes’ annual list of the world’s top-100 highest-paid professional athletes includes a trio of Memphis Grizzlies. This is the sole reason why the franchise will not be major players in NBA Free-Agency.

Each year, Forbes releases a top-100 breakdown of the highest-paid professional athletes from around the globe. The 2018 version dropped recently and it contains a high level of Memphis Grizzlies flavor. The rankings are based upon contract salary in addition to endorsements.

With the Grizzlies maximizing new contracts for a trio of players within the past three years, the franchise definitely had a large chance to make the list. The squad had a disappointing team record of 22-60 this past season. The main reason was due to injuries. Of Memphis’ top-three highest paid players, 121 of a combined maximum 246 appearances were made. That is a lot of absences by top-tier talent. This is the tough part of the rankings. It makes a lot of viewers wonder why the Grizzlies are doling so much dough for minimal service.

The greater good of this ranking is to give the small-market Grizzlies additional global recognition. They are often overlooked, and with three current Memphis ballers placed on the Forbes list, a lot of people will think “Wow, Memphis? Maybe I need to tune into their games more.”

Breaking down the rankings, the first Grizzly to appear on the Forbes report is the name Mike Conley. “Mac-11” briefly owned the largest contract amount the NBA had seen when the point guard inked a six-year, $153 million deal with Memphis in 2016.

These extraordinary amounts of cash are becoming more common and will continue to do so as the NBA’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Players Association unfolds year over year. For Conley, it is not just his on-court impact that brings in the loot. He has multiple endorsement deals, including one featuring his name and face on Mountain Dew products and advertisements.

The most surprising ranking involving the Memphis Grizzlies arrives at No. 82 overall. Playing in just 36 games during the 2017-18 season, Chandler Parsons raked in more than $23,000,000 of salary per his contract. He also has a shoe deal with Adidas.

It is understandable to hear Grizz fans being upset with Parsons, largely in part to the production-per-dollar rate. His injury recovery process has taken longer than expected. Finding chemistry within a new system featuring new teammates are obviously challenges, too. Grizz Nation must acknowledge that Chandler Parsons was definitely worth the $94,000,000 maximum contract offer at the time Memphis met with the wing in the summer of 2016.

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Being 29 years of age, he should still have plenty left in the tank. For the Grizzlies’ sake, he needs to find his rhythm sooner rather than later in order to boost the team’s odds of winning in the now.

Furthermore, the Grizzlies’ three-time All-Star center, Marc Gasol, follows Parsons at No. 84. Talk about high value. Even at Parsons’ peak level of performance dating back to his days with the Houston Rockets, there were no All-Star nods. Gasol is a global icon in the basketball world and earns less pay than Chandler. Gasol had a great year despite not being named to the Western Conference All-Star team in 2018. Arguably Memphis’ all-time best player, surpassing his older brother — Pau Gasol — in nearly all categories of Grizz record books, Marc has lived up to the hype after signing his five-year, $110,000,000 deal. He will continue to lead the Grizz at the five-spot.

Given the aforementioned fact of injuries surrounding the Memphis Grizzlies’ three-headed monster, it is easy to understand their struggles. Heading into the 2018-19 season, do not expect the Grizzlies to land big names via Free-Agency. They simply do not have the cash to spend on big names, unless those key talents wish to secure a cheap deal to play with a healthy a Conley, Gasol, and associated company.

In this regard, Memphis became very lucky last summer. Do-it-all Tyreke Evans produced arguably the Grizzlies’ best individual season in 2017-18. “Reke Havoc” was even more impressive when you consider his one-year contract. In an attempt to prove a bill of good health, Evans earned $3,290,000 — the team’s seventh-highest paid salary on the season.

Hopefully Memphis is able to persuade Tyreke to return for another season. Regardless, it would be nice to see the Front Office find another steal of a deal like this in this summer’s free-agency period. It is rare, but possible.

For those wondering, the 2017 Forbes rankings listed Mike Conley at No. 42, Chandler Parsons, at No. 76, and Marc Gasol at No. 85. The Memphis Grizzlies fan base truly hopes to see more productivity per dollar by the team’s stars in the upcoming season.

Go Grizz!