The last three years of Zion Williamson’s contract are no longer guaranteed!

NBA – Because he did not play enough games last season, Zion Williamson can be cut from July 2025, without any compensation.

We knew that Zion Williamson’s contract extension, initialled in 2022, included clauses relating to his health and, more generally, his weight. The Pelicans had included at least one clause to ensure that he did not put on too much weight, and more specifically that his weight remained at around 130kg. If the winger exceeds this threshold, the guaranteed amount of his contract is reduced.

What we didn’t know was that there was a much more restrictive clause, and it has just been removed! The Athletic has revealed that the last three years of Zion Williamson’s contract are no longer guaranteed! Why not? Because the All-Star only played 29 games last season.

Cut at the beginning of July 2025?

By missing more than 22 games last season, Zion Williamson has activated a clause that transforms the 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons from guaranteed to unguaranteed! As a result, his contract for the 2024-25 season is only fully guaranteed from 7 January 2024. Similarly, his salary for the 2025-26 season is 100% guaranteed if he is not cut by 15 July 2025. The same applies to the 2026/27 and 2027/28 seasons.

In other words, this means that the Pelicans will have the option of parting ways with Zion Williamson at the end of next season, in early July 2025. What we also learn is that if the interior misses many more games this season, the amount of his guaranteed contract will be reduced next season.

Weigh-ins that pay off… big time

Although the Pelicans are unlikely to activate this release clause, The Athletic reveals a whole host of other clauses. For example, 20% of his salary for the 2025-26 season will be guaranteed if he passes all six weigh-in checkpoints during the 2024-25 season, a further 40% if he plays at least 41 games in 2024-25 and a further 20% if he plays at least 51 games. The remaining 20% will be guaranteed again if he plays at least 61 matches. He can again guarantee part of his salary for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons by achieving the same targets in the previous seasons.