Bad contracts can be an anchor that drags a franchise down, not just in the short term but for years to come. Immediately, they sap a team’s ability to construct a balanced roster, limiting both depth and talent. Over time, if the deal is bad enough, its impact compounds, restricting financial flexibility, forcing tough roster decisions, and ultimately stalling a team’s long-term success.
Every year, Bill Simmons of The Ringer hosts his annual “NBA Worst Contracts Draft,” an exercise where he and Joe House take stock of the league’s most burdensome deals and assemble a fictional roster of financial misfires. On Thursday, they ran it back, this time with Senior Staff Writer Wosny Lambre — better known as “Big Wos” — joining the discussion. And right in the thick of it? Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal, a player whose contract has become as much a talking point as his on-court availability.
With the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Worst Contracts Draft…
Yep. Bradley Beal.
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Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Beal is currently in the third year of his five-year, $251 million contract, which includes a no-trade clause and a player option for the 2026-27 season. This deal, initially signed with the Washington Wizards before his trade to Phoenix, remains one of the most scrutinized contracts in the league due to its financial burden and restrictive terms.
The trio joked that at this point, the draft might as well be named after Beal. Joe House, a longtime Washington Wizards fan all too familiar with the Beal contract saga, put it bluntly: “The impact of the Bradley Beal contract on the face of the league over the last, you know, seven or eight years.”
Beal’s deal has long been a cautionary tale, one that started in Washington and now looms large over the Suns. From its massive financial commitment to the no-trade clause that initially tied the Wizards’ hands, the contract has shaped roster decisions, limited flexibility, and influenced how teams around the league approach star extensions.
According to Big Wos, Beal’s contract is the worst because, “he set two franchises back a grand total of how many years? It’ll be at least 14 to 15 years if you add up the number of years that Washington is going to take to recover and be competitive and how long it will be before Phoenix it is competitive again”.
The primary reason Bradley Beal was drafted first overall in the NBA Worst Contracts Draft? Even over Joel Embiid, who recently signed a four-year, $213.1 million extension? The sheer inflexibility of his deal. Big Wos pointed out that the Suns have already attempted to move Beal, but due to his no-trade clause, they were unable to do so.
“They tried to bench him to get him to remove his no-trade,” Lambre said. “They tried everything to get this man off of their team…this is an immovable, it literally can’t be moved”.
The Phoenix Suns may not be taking home many accolades this season, but at least they’ve secured this one. It’s not exactly the kind of recognition a team hopes for, but given the constraints of Beal’s massive deal and no-trade clause, it’s a fitting distinction.
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