Report: James Harden Takes Notable Pay Cut to Re-Sign With Sixers

After the 2021-2022 season ended, Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden made it clear he wanted to return to the City of Brotherly Love. With a player option on his contract available for next season, the expectation was that Harden would opt into his $47 million option.

As it turned out, that wasn’t the case. The Sixers’ front office made it clear that they would prioritize building around both Joel Embiid and Harden during the 2022 offseason.

In order to give the Sixers flexibility to do so, Harden declined his nearly $50 million player option. When free agency kicked off last Thursday, the Sixers inked several new prospects, including P.J. Tucker, Danuel House, and Trevelin Queen.

Last weekend, Harden was expected to ink his new deal with the Sixers, but it didn’t happen after a meeting in the Hamptons reportedly went down. While the agreement was taking longer than expected, Harden was always expected to make his return to Philadelphia for next season.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, an agreement between Harden and the Sixers is in place — and Harden will take a steep pay cut to help his team for next year.

Sources: James Harden is taking a $15 million paycut for next season that allowed Philadelphia to elevate roster — with sole focus on a championship run in 2023. Harden opted out of his $47M player option and now plans to sign a new two-year deal with a player option in Year 2.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2022

Per Charania’s report on Friday, Harden will take a $15 million paycut for next year. As Harden’s looking to add a championship win to his already impressive resume, he is giving Daryl Morey and the Sixers a chance to build a contender around Embiid and himself.

The expectation is that Harden will re-sign with the Sixers on a two-year deal. While the 2022-2023 season is expected to be guaranteed for the ten-time All-Star, the second year on the contract is expected to be a player option, according to Charania.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.