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Bucks Will Pay Damian Lillard a Surprising Salary Through 2029

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonathan D Adams | Last updated Jul 2, 2025 10:00 AM ET

Damian Lillard may no longer be on the Milwaukee Bucks roster, but the franchise will be on the hook for the star's old contract for quite some time. The good news for Lillard is that the guard is now free to find a new NBA home while still receiving all of his $112 million contract.

As Lillard continues to recover from an Achilles injury, it does not appear that the star is in a hurry to land with a new team.

"While at least the current expectation, sources said, is that Lillard won't sign with anyone for the 2025-26 season, he now will get all of the money owed to him and will get the chance to spend the next 12 to 18 months rehabbing his injury then choosing his next destination for the first time in his career as an unrestricted free agent," ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Jamal Collier detailed on Wednesday.

To create room to sign Myles Turner, the Bucks cut ties with Lillard through the "stretch provision." Lillard will receive the remaining $112 million in full, clearly good news for the veteran.

Milwaukee will then stretch this $112 million over five seasons, meaning the Bucks will pay Lillard $22.5 million per year through 2029, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

The Damian Lillard trade had risk and the worst-case scenario ended up happening.

They're down Jrue, an unprotected first, two swaps, and now have to pay Lillard $22.5 million a year not to play for the next five years.
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) July 1, 2025

"By waiving Lillard prior to Aug. 29, the Bucks can use the 'stretch provision' in the CBA while leaving their future draft assets untouched," Charania detailed on Monday. "For salary cap purposes, the Bucks can stretch his remaining two years to five -- meaning they will pay $22.5 million per year.

"The stretched salary can't exceed 15% of the salary cap, which is currently $23.197 million."

Lillard still gets all of his contract while being free to sign a new deal with another team. The Bucks are banking on this expensive gamble keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo happy amid plenty of NBA rumors about his future.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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