Okay, so, I was browsing through some NBA stuff the other day, just killing time, and I stumbled upon Cody Zeller’s name. You know, the big guy who used to play for the Hornets and the Trail Blazers, and now he’s with the Pelicans? Anyway, I got curious about how much money he’s actually made throughout his career. Like, we always hear about these massive contracts, but what does it really add up to for a guy like Zeller, who’s been a solid role player but not exactly a superstar?
So I went on a little mission to find out. First, I hit up the usual spots like Spotrac and Basketball-Reference, just to get a general overview of his contracts. They had all the numbers there, year by year, but I wanted to see it all together, you know?
I started jotting down each of his contracts on a piece of paper, from his rookie deal with the then-Charlotte Bobcats to his current one. It’s kind of crazy to see how the numbers change over the years. His first contract was a 4-year deal worth around $13 million in total. Not bad for a fresh-out-of-college kid, right?
- Rookie contract (2013-2017): 4 years, roughly $13 million
Then, he got that big extension with the Hornets in 2016. That one was a 4-year, $56 million deal. That’s when things really started to look up for him, money-wise.
- First big extension (2017-2021): 4 years, $56 million
After that, he signed a 1-year deal with the Trail Blazers for the veteran minimum, which was around $2.39 million for that season. Then I added the contract details for the Pelicans since that’s where he is now.
- Portland Trail Blazers (2021-2022): 1 year, around $2.39 million
- New Orleans Pelicans (2023-2024): 1 year, around $3.1 million
Once I had all the numbers written down, I just started adding them up. It took a bit of time, doing it the old-fashioned way, but I finally got a total.
The Grand Total
And guess what? Cody Zeller, throughout his NBA career, has earned an estimated $74.5 million, give or take. It’s pretty wild to think about, right? That’s a lot of money for playing basketball, even if you’re not one of the biggest names in the league. Of course, that’s before taxes, agent fees, and all that stuff, but still, it’s a pretty impressive number.
It just goes to show you that even role players in the NBA can make a serious living. It was a fun little project, and now I know a bit more about Cody Zeller’s career earnings.
