{"id":697287,"date":"2026-04-04T05:23:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T05:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/697287\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T05:23:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T05:23:19","slug":"pelicans-zion-williamson-earns-salary-boost-after-61st-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/697287\/","title":{"rendered":"Pelicans’ Zion Williamson Earns Salary Boost After 61st Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AZion Williamson’s contract incentives reflect the highs and lows of his NBA career, as the Pelicans star works to maximize his earning potential through on-court performance.New Orleans Today<\/p>\n

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has earned a salary increase for the 2026-27 season after playing in his 61st game of the current 2025-26 campaign. Williamson’s contract includes provisions that boost his pay based on games played, and he has now met the threshold to increase his salary from $25.3 million to $33.7 million for next season.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

Williamson has struggled with injuries and conditioning issues throughout his career, limiting his ability to maximize his earning potential. This salary boost shows the Pelicans’ commitment to keeping Williamson long-term and rewarding him for staying healthy and productive this season.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

Williamson is in his sixth NBA season with the Pelicans. His current contract includes performance-based incentives, including salary escalators tied to the number of games he plays each year. After appearing in his 61st game of the 2025-26 season on Friday night, Williamson has now triggered the salary increase from $25.3 million to $33.7 million for the 2026-27 season. There are also additional weight incentives worth $8.4 million that could make his full 2026-27 salary of $42.2 million become fully guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Zion Williamson played in his 61st game of the 2025-26 season on April 4, 2026.Williamson’s salary for the 2026-27 season will increase from $25.3 million to $33.7 million as a result of the 61-game threshold.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Zion Williamson<\/a><\/p>\n

A star forward for the New Orleans Pelicans who has struggled with injuries and conditioning issues throughout his NBA career.<\/p>\n

New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n

The NBA team that drafted Zion Williamson and has worked to keep him healthy and productive despite his injury history.<\/p>\n

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\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cZion Williamson has now played in 61 games. The salary protection next season will increase from $25.3M to $33.7M. Williamson has weight incentives tied into the remaining $8.4M of his non-guaranteed salary. There is a likelihood his $42.2M salary next season becomes fully guaranteed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bobby Marks, NBA Insider<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Pelicans will continue to monitor Williamson’s health and performance as they look to build a contending team around him. If he can stay healthy for the remainder of this season, he could earn the full $42.2 million salary for 2026-27.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

Zion Williamson’s contract incentives highlight the challenges he has faced in his career to stay on the court and maximize his earning potential. This salary boost is a positive sign for the Pelicans, who are hoping Williamson can anchor their team for years to come if he can maintain his health and productivity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a Zion Williamson’s contract incentives reflect the highs and lows of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697288,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3796],"tags":[7,6,478,470,4073,4072,675],"class_list":{"0":"post-697287","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-pelicans","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-new-orleans","11":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","12":"tag-neworleans","13":"tag-neworleanspelicans","14":"tag-pelicans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116344771581335374","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}