When Al Horford signed his 4-year $109 million deal with the Sixers in 2019, it did not seem like a very sound business decision by the team. $97 million was guaranteed in that contract, with an additional $12 million being championship bonuses for the then 33-year-old.
The Sixers definitely did not get what they paid for and they shipped him off to the Oklahoma City Thunder after just one season. Horford then looked set to fade away into the distance with the tanking Thunder, but his fortunes changed before the 2021-22 season.
His former coach at the Celtics in Brad Stevens was elevated to President of Basketball Operations for the franchise on June 2nd and just a couple of weeks later, he swung a deal to get Horford back to Boston.
The veteran big man has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence with the Celtics, especially in the playoffs where he helped them sweep the Brooklyn Nets and he has been immense in this series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Arguably his finest playoff moment came in Game 4, where Horford scored a career playoff-high 30 points, with 16 of them coming in the fourth quarter as he ensured the series was tied up at 2-2 heading to Boston. Horford claimed after the game that Giannis Antetokounmpo staring him down didn’t sit well with him and something switched with him after that.
While that play might well have served as motivation, Horford has $12 million reasons to have a strong showing here and lead the Celtics to the title. We mentioned that championship bonus at the start of this piece and that is very much in play here. As per Spotrac, his salary for next season sits at $14.5 million guaranteed, but if Horford makes the finals here, then it bumps up to $19.5 million and if they win the title, then it goes all the way up to $26.5 million!
So, it’s a $5 million bonus for making the Finals, and that bonus in total goes up to $12 million if he wins it all this season! Winning the title is always a big motivation for any player, but Horford definitely has a lot more riding on it for him here.
