Paul George played sparingly in 2024-25 due to injuries, and didn’t perform all that well when he was on the court. And given the most recent news about the declining star, it appears that the Philadelphia 76ers have the worst contract in the NBA on their books for the next three seasons.
Paul George Has The Worst Contract In The NBA
According to reports, a recent offseason workout went poorly for George. He apparently injured his left knee while prepping for the upcoming campaign, and underwent an arthroscopic surgery on the ailment, and is now out with no definitive time table for a return to action.
The #Sixers announced that Paul George has undergone knee surgery & is out indefinitely.
The 35-year-old is entering Year 2 of a 4-year, $211.5M contract in Philly, and saw action in just 41 games last season.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) July 15, 2025
It is just the latest disappointment for the 76ers since bringing him on board a year ago. During the 2024 offseason, Philadelphia handed the then-34-year-old Paul George a four-year contract worth over $211 million. The hope was that his presence added to the core of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey would help put the team over the top in the Eastern Conference, and perhaps vault them into title contention.
It is turning out to be a poor decision, and could very well be the worst contract of any player in the NBA.
In his first season with the team, George appeared in just 41 games, and performed poorly when he was healthy enough to play. After averaging 22.6 points per game the season prior, he saw his scoring figure dip to 16.2 points, the first time in 10 years that he averaged fewer than 20 per contest. For his contributions, the 76ers paid him over $49 million in 2024-25.
76ers Still Owe George Roughly $155 Million
That number will be increasing for the coming season. George is set to earn north of $51 million in 2025-26, a number that will continue to increase over the final three years of the deal. Given Monday’s news about the surgery, there is a high probability that he’ll miss the start of the upcoming campaign, and his advancing age and declining numbers are starting to become a major issue.
Paul George entered last season fully healthy only to sustain multiple injuries that limited his impact.
Heading into 2025-26, at 35 and in the 2nd year of his four-year/$212 million deal, George sustained yet another injury doing an offseason workout.
Just unbelievable.
— Jacob Moreno (@jmoreno76ers) July 14, 2025
When it comes to salary rankings, Paul George will be the 14th highest-paid player in the NBA this coming season. He’ll be making more money than Donovan Mitchell, Luka Doncic, and Anthony Edwards, and will earn over $16 million more than Jalen Brunson.
Given the back loaded nature of his contract (he has a $56.6 million player option for 2027-28), it is safe to say that the Philadelphia 76ers made a grave mistake in handing him the money that they did.
Despite their off-season efforts, the 76ers won just 24 games last season and finished in 13th place in the East. The trio of George, Embiid, and Maxey played together in just 15 games.
