NBA Star Kyrie Irving Reveals Huge Price He Paid for Not Getting COVID-19 Vaccine

Kyrie Irving (11) of the Brooklyn Nets reacts in the second half against the Miami Heat at Barclays Center in New York City on Jan. 23, 2021. Elsa/Getty Images

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving revealed on Sept. 26 that he gave up a four-year contract extension worth about $100 million because he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Starting last year, officials in New York City implemented a COVID-19 vaccine passport system that barred anyone who could not show they were vaccinated from entering certain locations. That included the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“I gave up four years, 100-and-something million deciding to be unvaccinated, and that was the decision,” Irving told reporters on Monday. “[Get this] contract, get vaccinated, or be unvaccinated and there’s a level of uncertainty of your future, whether you’re going to be in this league, whether you’re going to be on this team. So I had to deal with that real-life circumstance of losing my job for this decision.”

Because of the New York City mandate, Irving could only play road games—not home games—last season. And since he couldn’t play in home games, he could not be paid for them.

“We were supposed to have all that figured out before training camp last year,” Irving said. “And it just didn’t happen because of the status of me being vaccinated, unvaccinated. So, I understood their point and I just had to live with it. It was a tough pill to swallow, honestly.”

He added: “I didn’t appreciate how me being unvaccinated came to be a stigma within my career that I don’t want to play, or that I’m willing to give up everything to be a voice for the voiceless.”

Ultimatum or Personal Choice

While Irving suggested that the Nets gave him an ultimatum about his vaccination status on getting a contract extension deal finished, the Nets said that no pressure was placed on the superstar guard.

“There’s no ultimatum being given here,” Nets General Manager Sean Marks told reporters Monday about Irving’s situation. “Again, it goes back to you want people who are reliable, people who are here, and accountable.”

He said that it applies to everyone on the team, including “staff, players, coaches, you name it.”

“It’s not giving somebody an ultimatum to get a vaccine,” Marks added. “That’s a completely personal choice. I stand by Kyrie. I think if he wants, he’s made that choice. That’s his prerogative completely.”

After opting into the final year of his contract with the Nets, Irving is set to make $36.5 million this year. Last season, Irving played 29 games, averaging 27.4 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Last week, Irving sharply criticized COVID-19 vaccine mandates and said that how unvaccinated people were treated during the pandemic is tantamount to a human rights violation.

“If I can work and be unvaccinated, then all of my brothers and sisters who are also unvaccinated should be able to do the same, without being discriminated against, vilified, or fired,” he wrote on Twitter. “This enforced Vaccine/Pandemic is one the biggest violations of HUMAN RIGHTS in history.”