Former NBA player Sebastian Telfair made a startling revelation in the premiere episode of his Final Days of Freedom series. Telfair stated he had moved back to the projects before his arrest because he was broke, and drew sympathy from many in the basketball world. Fellow former NBA player Gilbert Arenas doesn’t think anyone should be all too worried about him, though.
On the Gilbert Arenas Show, Arenas explained how the NBA’s pension scheme ensures Telfair, who played in the league for 10 seasons, will be just fine.
“Let’s say Plan A and B, meaning you just take, say, a monthly for life,” Arenas said. “Just for life if you take it at 45 [years old]. So Plan A and B together, you take, let’s say $9,000 a month, right? And that’s until you pass.
“Or you just take A, which is a lump sum, which is, let’s say, at 45, $1.1 million, and you get $900 every month,” Arenas continued. “… And then at 50, Plan A and B combined, the one for life, $12,000 a month, and you got to remember, this is gonna go up every year… This is 2022 numbers.
“So, $12,000 a month A and B for life,” Arenas added. “Or just A 1.5 and with $2,500 a month… And then the latest one you can take is at age 62. The A, B for life, you’re talking about right now $25k a month or 2.7 with Plan B, $6k a month.”
Those are some big numbers.
Telfair, who earned about $19 million in salaries during his NBA career, is currently 40 years old, so the earliest he can start getting a pension is in five years. The fact that he played 10 seasons also means he and his family qualify for the Players Association’s retiree benefits program. They are eligible for the premium medical plan, so he doesn’t have to worry too much about that expenditure either.
With all this in mind, you can perhaps understand why Arenas isn’t feeling too bad for Telfair, who had moved back to the Coney Island projects he grew up in.
“When that n***a get out, you get to see where he go,” Arenas stated. “… He might own that building. I don’t care.”
Telfair was sentenced to six months in prison in August 2025 for failing to abide by court-ordered community service and failing to report to the U.S. Probation Office. He had previously been sentenced to three years’ probation in 2023 after pleading guilty to defrauding the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan.
