Phoenix Suns: Booker had roughly $250,000 withheld from his paycheck

NBA players had a chunk of their paychecks withheld on Friday and for highly-paid guys like Phoenix Suns star, Devin Booker, that chunk of upwards of a quarter-million-dollars.

Friday, May 15th was the first NBA payday where players had between 23 and 26 percent of their salary withheld due to the hiatus. It was a deal agreed upon back in April between the league and the players’ association, but the first real tangible impact of that agreement just hit everyone’s wallet. Assuming Phoenix Suns star, Devin Booker is on a standard payment plan, his paycheck was roughly $250,000 light.

Again, this uses some assumptions because some top-tier earners choose to get paid in fewer installments or more up-front. This is the case with players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, John Wall, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, and Paul George had already been paid in full for the season, so they will essentially write IOUs and have their checks for next season reduced.

So, if Booker takes his $27,285,000 salary over 26 pay periods, that comes out to $1,049,423.08 per check. 23 to 26 percent of that comes out to a loss of somewhere between $241,367 and $272,850.

Granted, that still leaves a net of roughly $750,000, which isn’t too bad, but still, a quarter-million-dollar hit is a tough blow.

It could be recouped, however, if regular-season games resume. According to the agreement, the money is being withheld in an escrow account that could be paid back out if the NBA fully resumes. However, it could go the opposite way too.

According to ESPN:

"If the league cancels the remainder of the regular season and jumps right into the playoffs, players likely will see the 25% paycheck reduction increase as high as 40%. If the league cancels the entire season, including the postseason, players are projected to lose more than $1 billion in total salary."

Other highly-paid Phoenix Suns players (again, assuming they take payments on the 1st and 15th of the month) took big hits too:

Ricky Rubio: ~ $155,000
Kelly Oubre: ~ $150,000
Deandre Ayton: ~ $91,000

Oh, and Tyler Johnson, because remember the team is still paying his full $19 million salary, had roughly $185,000 withheld.

No one is going to feel sorry for these guys considering millions of Americans are facing much more dire financial situations due to the coronavirus pandemic, but when you apply these losses on the scale of money these guys make, the raw numbers are astounding.

This hit likely will cause players who were on the fence about whether to come back summersault to the side of wanting to return. Adam Silver is expected to make a decision in the next two to four weeks on what the league will do.

Players are set to have the same amount withheld on their June 1st checks.