Ben Simmons and the 76er have reached a settlement on the complaint filed by the all-star guard to recover part of the nearly $20 million he was deprived of due to his failure to play last season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The Sixers alleged that Simmons broke his contract by not showing up for the start of training camp and refusing to play in the preseason and regular season prior to the trade deadline exchange nets. Simmons cited psychological reasons for his limited participation in team activities. He was also diagnosed with a back injury that prevented him from playing with Brooklyn last season.
Both sides have agreed not to disclose the exact financial settlement, adds Wojnarowski.
The Players Association backed Simmons in the complaint, which was shared with the Sixers, the league and the NBPA in early April. The matter was to be settled, which could have set a precedent for how future mental health and contract matters might be handled. Instead, the two sides reached an agreement before an arbitrator could make a decision.
Simmons had a cap hit of just over $33 million last season.
During the season, Sixers officials claimed that their doctors were given limited access to Simmons to diagnose and confirm these mental health issues.
After Simmons was traded, his reps held several talks with the Sixers, but those talks ended without a resolution.
As of November 15 of last year, the Sixers withheld $360,000 for every game Simmons missed (1/91.6 of his total salary). Simmons received a $16.5 million advance on his salary during the offseason, so there wasn’t enough money in each paycheck to cover per-game deductions.
Along with the escrow amount withheld by the NBA, the Sixers withdrew nearly $1.3 million from Simmons’ paycheck on every paycheck.