$ 205 million over five years.
This is the staggering amount of the new contract signed by Rudy Gobert at the Utah Jazz, in the NBA.
Never had a French athlete initialed a contract of such an amount.
This is the third largest contract in the history of the North American Basketball Championship.
The 2.16 m colossus thus becomes the highest paid pivot in the history of the American League.
"It means they believe in me," Gobert told US media ESPN.
They believe in what we have been building in recent years.
For me, this is an incredible blessing.
Knowing that we share the same vision and the same goal motivates me a lot.
"
Dear Utah ... pic.twitter.com/S806F4oZ6d
- Rudy Gobert (@ rudygobert27) December 20, 2020
“I arrived in Utah at the age of 21, coming from a small working-class town, Saint-Quentin
(Editor's note: in the Aisne)
, he explained in a statement.
I didn't come to America with much, other than the values my mother passed on to me.
[…] I must say thank you.
I am here to stay and to win a title.
"
The Frenchman, now tied to Jazz until 2026, was eligible for a "supermax" contract worth $ 228 million, the same as that of double MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But he explained that he had never asked for such a sum to allow his franchise to continue to develop around the duo he forms with Donovan Mitchell.
The two-time best defender in the NBA, who will therefore touch more than 33 million euros per year, will certainly have a little more pressure on his shoulders this season.
