In 2010 when the Heat pursued to pair Dwyane Wade with LeBron James and Chris Bosh, sacrifices had to be made since they didn’t have enough cap room to give all three players maximum contracts. While all three took slightly less than the maximum, Haslem made the biggest sacrifice to return to the Heat and help make them as deep as possible.
Haslem re-signed with the Heat on a five-year deal worth $20 million in 2010. He reportedly declined offers from the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets for five years, $34 million. While $14 million seems like the going rate for starter level and high-end bench players today, that was a significant amount of money back then that would serve as a massive separation in any contract negotiation. He also took another pay cut in 2014 when he declined his player option and re-signed for less money.
Haslem has earned $69 million in his career through 2021-22. His newest one-year deal will put his career earnings at $71 million. He has acknowledged in the past that he has given up $70 million in his career to remain with the Heat, and he has now made that amount in career earnings.
One can look at part of the Heat’s decision to keep Haslem all these years as a way to reimburse him for his lost money. Of his $71 million earned, $25 million of it came since 2014 when he ended his 2010 contract to take another pay cut. It’s possible he made up his lost earnings and even made more than he would’ve had his career ended earlier. This immense gesture of loyalty, particularly to a non-star player, could pay dividends to the Heat with their plans to sign top free agents in the future.
