Ben Simmons, 76ers reportedly reach settlement on grievance over withheld pay from 2021-22 season

Kyle Irving

Ben Simmons, 76ers reportedly reach settlement on grievance over withheld pay from 2021-22 season image

Ben Simmons and the 76ers have reached a settlement on the grievance over withheld pay for the 2021-22 season, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

Back in April, Simmons and the National Basketball Players Association filed a grievance against the 76ers over money that was withheld from missing games and practices prior to being traded to the Nets.

According to Wojnarowski, "both sides entered an arbitration process but reached a settlement agreement prior to judgment."

Why did Simmons and the NBPA file a grievance against the 76ers and how much money was settled upon? The Sporting News has answers to both questions below.

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Why did Ben Simmons file a grievance against 76ers?

Simmons filed a grievance against the 76ers to challenge the roughly $20 million of salary that was withheld from him due to missing games and practices during the 2021-22 season.

The 76ers claimed Simmons breached his contract by failing to show up and take part in team activities such as practices and games, but Simmons cited his mental health as the reason he didn't participate.

Simmons "disagreed" with the access that the team and its doctors were given to diagnose and affirm his mental health. Although the two sides tried to resolve the matter without arbitration, those talks reportedly ended without a resolution, which led to the filing of the grievance, according to Wojnarowski.

However, the two sides reached an agreement ahead of the scheduled arbitration. 

What was the settlement between Ben Simmons and 76ers?

Wojnarowski reported, "Both sides agreed to confidentiality on the exact financial settlement reached."

Simmons filed a grievance for "roughly $20 million" back in April, but the portion of that retained is unknown.

Unrelated to the grievance settlement, it is worth noting that when Simmons was traded to the Nets, he received his full salary from Brooklyn from the time of the trade through the end of the playoffs despite not playing a single game.

In 2021-22, Simmons' was set to earn just over $33 million. 

He was on the Nets for 27 of the team's 82 regular season games, which means he net ~$10,878,881 (27/82x33M). He was also entitled to an additional $23,169 for Brooklyn's first round playoff appearance, per the NBA's collectively bargained playoff pool of money. 

Simmons is currently on a five-year, $170 max contract that he signed in the 2019 offseason. He has three more years remaining on the deal before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2025.

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.