A History of NBA Contract Weight Clauses

The contract negotiations between the Detroit Pistons and restricted free agent Jalen Duren this past offseason, and got ugly. Eventually, they were resolved, when Duren agreed to re-sign to a five-year, $200 million contract. But for a time there, until it was removed later in the negotiations, the Pistons wanted Duren to accept a contract with a rare caveat – a weight clause. In the midst of the Duren saga, some internet commenters claimed that weight clauses are common in NBA contracts, if not customary. They are neither. They are rare. They are not, however, unprecedented.