Terry Rozier is going to get paid this season after all.
The Miami Heat guard won his salary dispute with the league on Monday, according to ESPN’s David Purdum. An arbitrator determined that players can’t be put on leave other than in cases of domestic abuse or child abuse, so Rozier’s salary will now be released.
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The Heat and the NBA both agreed to put Rozier’s salary for this season in escrow after he was arrested and indicted in a federal gambling investigation. Rozier has not played in a single game for the Heat this season, which marks the final year of a four-year, $96.2 million deal. He is set to make more than $26.6 million this season, and will hit free agency this summer.
“We are pleased with the arbitrator’s ruling and remain committed to ensuring Terry’s due process rights are protected and that he is afforded the presumption of innocence throughout this process,” the National Basketball Players Association said in a statement.
Rozier pleaded not guilty after officials said he shared inside information with an individual who then shared that information with bettors. Rozier allegedly left a contest during the 2022-23 season when he was still with the Charlotte Hornets after just nine minutes due to a foot injury. Rozier allegedly told an associate that he was going to leave early, and the associate then sold that information to gamblers who bet thousands on Rozier unders for that contest.
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Rozier was arrested in October as part of a larger gambling operation that also led to Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones being arrested. Billups and Jones were arrested in separate cases. Both Billups and Rozier were placed on leave by the NBA.
Rozier has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges of wire fraud and money laundering, and his attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case in December.
Rozier averaged 10.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game with the Heat last season, his 10th in the league. The team acquired him ahead of the deadline during the 2023-24 campaign in a deal that sent Kyle Lowry to Charlotte.
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While Rozier has not been available to play this season, and the Heat now have to pay him, the organization is still operating under the belief that it can trade him ahead of Thursday’s deadline, according to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Whether another team will opt to pick him up amid his legal battle, however, remains to be seen.