Miami guard Terry Rozier will receive his $26.6 million salary for the current season after an arbitrator ruled on Monday that the Heat couldn’t withhold the money while Rozier awaits trial on federal charges stemming from a sports-betting investigation.
Rozier, 31, was arrested Oct. 23 and charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering. He entered a not-guilty plea, and he is free on $3 million bond.
The Heat put Rozier on administrative leave and began depositing his paychecks into an interest-bearing escrow account.
The National Basketball Players Association filed for arbitration on behalf of Rozier, arguing that he was due his salary.
The arbitrator agreed with the union.
“We are pleased with the arbitrator’s ruling and remain committed to ensuring Terry’s due process rights are protected and that he is afforded the presumption of innocence throughout this process,” the NBPA wrote in a statement.
Rozier’s lawyer, Jim Trusty, wrote in a statement, “Terry won today under principles of contract law and the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the players, but the bigger principle at issue is the presumption of innocence. Today’s arbitration ruling reminds the NBA that they can’t ignore that important concept just because it’s a high-profile case.”
According to ESPN, the collective bargaining agreement stipulates that NBA teams can only withhold the pay of a player if the case involves child abuse or domestic abuse.
The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, and The Athletic reported that it was uncertain whether Rozier could be traded. The 31-year-old guard is in the last season of a four-year, $96 million contract.
Rozier is accused of alerting gamblers that he would leave a game early while playing for the Charlotte Hornets in March 2023. The gamblers then bet large sums on the “under” figures for Rozier’s stats in that contest.
Rozier averaged 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 64 games (23 starts) for the Heat last season. His career averages through 10 NBA seasons for the Boston Celtics, Charlotte and Miami are 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
