On Monday, Kyrie Irving publicly admitted the amount of money he lost as a result of delaying his COVID-19 vaccination.
Irving said that his attitude probably cost him over $100 million in free agency when speaking to journalists at the Brooklyn Nets media day.
Irving said, “I lost up four years, $100 million, and something million by choosing to remain unvaccinated. “The choice was made, then.
The message was: sign a contract, get immunized, or else your future, including whether you’ll play in this league and join this club, is rather questionable if you don’t.”
Irving probably lost more than $200 million as a result of his choice to forego the vaccination.
Due to New York City regulations in effect at the time, Irving was unable to participate in Brooklyn Nets home games until March of last season. For those matches, Irving was not compensated.
In addition to the game against the New York Knicks, he missed 35 of 41 home games.
Irving earned roughly $425,000 per game last season, so the games he missed in New York City cost him about $15.3 million.
Irving, though, was alluding to the money he dropped in free agency on Monday.
This summer, Irving was eligible for a five-year, $200 million deal with the Nets, but the team opted not to sign him due to their turbulent season.
Irving allegedly considered trying out the free agency market, but there weren’t many takers. Due to Irving’s frequent lack of availability (he has only played 103 games in three years in Brooklyn), some were hesitant to spend a significant sum of money.
Although they lacked the financial room, the Los Angeles Lakers were interested in signing him.
Irving ultimately chose to sign on for the last year of his deal, a $36.5 million option for the 2022–2023 campaign. Next summer, he’ll be a free agent.
On Monday, Irving said that he had thought about leaving the Nets, adding that his alternatives were “not many.”
Irving is now prepared for what may be a season that defines his career. Irving is one of the NBA’s most gifted players, and if the Nets can keep their top players on the court, they will be a title contender.
During the NBA season, Irving’s performance and availability will be among the subjects of the greatest scrutiny.
Irving said to reporters on Monday that while an extension was planned to be decided before the start of the previous season, it was called into doubt due to his refusal to be immunized.
Before training camp the previous year, we were supposed to have everything worked out, Irving said.
“And since I am an unvaccinated person, it just didn’t happen. I thus saw [management’s] argument and decided to accept it. It was a difficult concept to accept.”