Last Updated on April 3, 2026 by Mat Diekhake
Dwight Howard’s contract history is very different from the one-franchise model used in the Dirk Nowitzki template, but it works just as well because it captures a full NBA financial arc: a No. 1 overall pick rookie-scale deal in Orlando, a maximum rookie extension, a major free-agent contract in Houston, a fully guaranteed Atlanta deal, and then a late-career run of trades, buyouts, and minimum contracts. As of Spotrac’s 2026 earnings page, Howard’s NBA career earnings are listed at $245,142,483 across nine teams, with his last NBA contract on record being his 2021 Lakers deal. (spotrac.com)
What makes Dwight Howard contract history strong as a standalone topic is that the contract record mirrors the phases of his career unusually clearly. His Orlando years show the standard superstar progression from rookie contract to max extension, his Houston and Atlanta years show the league still paying him at star-level figures, and his later Washington, Memphis, Lakers, and 76ers stretch shows how quickly contract structure can change once a former franchise center moves into veteran-role status. (shamsports.com)
Dwight Howard Contract Agreements (As Signed)
This table tracks each contract event as Dwight Howard and NBA teams agreed to it at the time: draft rights, rookie deal, extensions, option decisions, trades that changed the contract holder, buyouts, and his final NBA contract to date. The figures and timeline below are compiled primarily from Spotrac’s transaction log and earnings history, then cross-checked with ShamSports, Reuters, ESPN, and official team releases. (spotrac.com)
| Date | Age | Team | Contract Move | Reported Terms | Seasons Affected | Clauses / Options | Detailed Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 24, 2004 | 18 | Orlando Magic | Drafted No. 1 overall | Orlando selected Howard first overall out of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy | 2004 draft rights | No. 1 pick | This is the starting point of Dwight Howard’s NBA contract history, because Orlando immediately controlled the rights to one of the league’s most valuable high-school prospects. |
| July 7, 2004 | 18 | Orlando Magic | Signed rookie-scale contract | 3 years, $13,479,600 at signing; full rookie-scale run ultimately became 4 years, $19,540,874 once the option year was exercised | 2004-05 to 2007-08 | Fourth-year team option | Spotrac’s contract summary logs the full rookie contract at $19,540,874, while its transaction log and the salary breakdown make clear that the initial signing covered the first three guaranteed years before the option season was picked up. |
| March 27, 2006 | 20 | Orlando Magic | Team option exercised | 2007-08 option worth $6,061,274 | 2007-08 | Team option picked up | This completed the full four-year rookie-scale contract and kept Howard under team control through the 2007-08 season. |
| July 12, 2007 | 21 | Orlando Magic | Signed rookie extension | 5 years, $83,235,900 maximum rookie extension | 2008-09 to 2012-13 | Early termination option after 2011-12 | Orlando moved early to lock in its franchise center after Howard’s breakout years, turning the rookie deal into a maximum-level long-term commitment. |
| March 15, 2012 | 26 | Orlando Magic | Declined early termination option | Chose not to exercise ETO and remained under contract for 2012-13 | 2012-13 | Early termination option declined | Howard gave up the chance to hit free agency immediately and instead stayed on the books for one more season, though Orlando traded him later that offseason. |
| August 10, 2012 | 26 | Los Angeles Lakers | Traded to Lakers in four-team deal | Existing Orlando extension transferred to Lakers | 2012-13 | Expiring contract year moved by trade | The move did not create a new contract, but it changed the franchise responsible for the final season of his Orlando extension. |
| July 10, 2013 | 27 | Houston Rockets | Signed maximum free-agent contract | 4 years, $87,591,270 | 2013-14 to 2016-17 | Player option for 2016-17 | Howard left the Lakers after one season and signed a major new deal in Houston, re-establishing himself as a max-level free agent. |
| June 21, 2016 | 30 | Houston Rockets | Declined player option | Declined 2016-17 option and entered free agency | 2016 offseason | Player option declined | This ended the Houston contract early and reopened the market for Howard ahead of the 2016 free-agency period. |
| July 12, 2016 | 30 | Atlanta Hawks | Signed free-agent contract | 3 years, $70,500,000 | 2016-17 to 2018-19 | Fully guaranteed; no option | ESPN reported the deal as totally guaranteed with no option, making it one of the cleaner late-prime contracts of Howard’s career. |
| June 20, 2017 | 31 | Charlotte Hornets | Traded to Charlotte | Atlanta traded Howard and a 2017 second-round pick to Charlotte for Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli, and a second-round pick | 2017-18 to 2018-19 | Existing Hawks contract transferred | Howard’s Atlanta contract stayed intact, but the Hornets became the paying team for the remaining years. |
| July 6, 2018 | 32 | Brooklyn Nets | Traded to Brooklyn | Charlotte traded Howard to Brooklyn for Timofey Mozgov, Hamidou Diallo’s rights, a 2021 second-round pick, and cash | 2018-19 | Existing Hawks contract transferred again | Before Howard ever played a game for Brooklyn, the final year of the Hawks/Hornets contract moved again. |
| July 7, 2018 | 32 | Brooklyn Nets | Waived / bought out | Buyout reduced his remaining salary by $5 million | 2018 offseason | Buyout | This is one of the key swing points in Howard’s contract history because it created the unusual split-cash structure that later shows up in his 2018-19 earnings total. |
| July 11, 2018 | 32 | Washington Wizards | Signed free-agent contract | 2 years, $10,940,850 | 2018-19 to 2019-20 | Player option for 2019-20 | After the Brooklyn buyout, Howard quickly landed a new multiyear contract with Washington. |
| April 18, 2019 | 33 | Washington Wizards | Exercised player option | Exercised roughly $5.6 million option for 2019-20 | 2019-20 | Player option exercised | Howard chose to lock in the second season of the Wizards deal before being moved again that summer. |
| July 6, 2019 | 33 | Memphis Grizzlies | Traded to Memphis | Washington traded Howard to Memphis for C.J. Miles | 2019-20 | Existing Wizards option year transferred | The option year stayed live, but Memphis immediately became a short-term stop rather than a playing destination. |
| August 24, 2019 | 33 | Memphis Grizzlies | Waived / bought out | Agreed to buyout after trade | 2019 offseason | Buyout | Howard’s Wizards/Memphis contract ended here, clearing the way for a low-risk veteran deal with the Lakers. |
| August 26, 2019 | 33 | Los Angeles Lakers | Signed free-agent contract | 1 year, $2,564,753 | 2019-20 | Non-guaranteed structure that paid him by days on roster | This was one of the most unusual deals of Howard’s career: a minimum contract with heavy protection for the Lakers after his Memphis buyout. |
| November 21, 2020 | 34 | Philadelphia 76ers | Signed free-agent contract | 1 year, $2,564,753 | 2020-21 | Minimum contract | Howard left the Lakers after the championship season and signed a one-year veteran minimum deal with Philadelphia. |
| August 6, 2021 | 35 | Los Angeles Lakers | Signed free-agent contract | 1 year, $2,641,691 | 2021-22 | Minimum contract | This became Howard’s last NBA contract to date, and Spotrac’s 2026 page still lists it as his final deal on record. |
Dwight Howard NBA Salaries by Season (Actual Cash Paid)
This table tracks Howard’s NBA cash earnings by season, using Spotrac’s published cash totals rather than just nominal base-salary labels. That matters for Howard more than for most players because 2018-19 and 2019-20 included split-team/buyout earnings that pushed his actual cash totals above what a simple one-team season log would show. (spotrac.com)
| Season | Age | Salary | Cumulative Career Earnings | Contract Phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | 19 | $4,179,720 | $4,179,720 | Rookie contract |
| 2005-06 | 20 | $4,493,160 | $8,672,880 | Rookie contract |
| 2006-07 | 21 | $4,806,720 | $13,479,600 | Rookie contract |
| 2007-08 | 22 | $6,061,274 | $19,540,874 | Rookie option year |
| 2008-09 | 23 | $13,758,000 | $33,298,874 | Orlando max extension |
| 2009-10 | 24 | $15,202,590 | $48,501,464 | Orlando max extension |
| 2010-11 | 25 | $16,647,180 | $65,148,644 | Orlando max extension |
| 2011-12 | 26 | $14,561,669 | $79,710,313 | Orlando max extension (lockout-prorated season) |
| 2012-13 | 27 | $19,536,360 | $99,246,673 | Lakers expiring year |
| 2013-14 | 28 | $20,513,178 | $119,759,851 | Houston max contract |
| 2014-15 | 29 | $21,436,271 | $141,196,122 | Houston max contract |
| 2015-16 | 30 | $22,359,364 | $163,555,486 | Houston max contract |
| 2016-17 | 31 | $23,180,275 | $186,735,761 | Atlanta contract |
| 2017-18 | 32 | $23,500,000 | $210,235,761 | Charlotte year of Atlanta contract |
| 2018-19 | 33 | $24,256,725 | $234,492,486 | Brooklyn buyout residue + Wizards contract |
| 2019-20 | 34 | $5,443,553 | $239,936,039 | Memphis buyout + Lakers minimum deal |
| 2020-21 | 35 | $2,564,753 | $242,500,792 | 76ers minimum deal |
| 2021-22 | 36 | $2,641,691 | $245,142,483 | Final NBA contract to date |
| TOTAL | $245,142,483 | $245,142,483 | Through last NBA contract on record |
Analysis
Dwight Howard’s contract history reads best in four phases. The first is the Orlando build-up phase, when he moved from a standard rookie-scale contract into a maximum rookie extension as the Magic built around him as a franchise center. The second is the peak-market phase, when the Lakers inherited the last year of that Orlando extension and Houston then paid him on a new four-year, $87.6 million free-agent contract. (shamsports.com)
The third phase is the transition period, which is where Howard’s page becomes more interesting than a basic salary log. Atlanta still paid him at a major starter-level number with a fully guaranteed three-year, $70.5 million deal, but the contract was quickly passed from Atlanta to Charlotte and then from Charlotte to Brooklyn before the buyout/reset sequence sent him to Washington on a much smaller multiyear agreement. (ESPN.com)
The fourth phase is the veteran-minimum stretch, and that is the section that gives this page extra narrative value. Howard’s 2019 Lakers contract came immediately after a Memphis buyout, and Spotrac’s yearly cash table shows that both 2018-19 and 2019-20 were split-cash seasons rather than normal single-team salary years. That makes his earnings record more nuanced than a simple team-by-team transaction list. (ESPN.com)
It also gives the post a clean ending point. Howard then signed consecutive one-year minimum deals with Philadelphia and the Lakers, and Spotrac’s 2026 contract page still lists the 2021 Lakers agreement as his last NBA contract on record, bringing his published NBA career earnings to $245,142,483. (ESPN.com)
Sources:
Spotrac Dwight Howard contract page, transaction log, and earnings-by-year cash table. (spotrac.com)
ShamSports Dwight Howard player transaction history. (shamsports.com)
Reuters on Howard staying through the final Orlando contract year in 2012. (Reuters)
Reuters on the 2012 four-team trade that sent Howard to the Lakers. (Reuters)
Reuters on Howard leaving the Lakers for Houston in 2013. (Reuters)
ESPN on the three-year, $70.5 million Hawks contract in 2016. (ESPN.com)
Washington Wizards official signing announcement in 2018. (NBA)
NBA.com and ESPN reporting on the 2019 Lakers deal and its structure. (NBA)
ESPN and NBA.com on the 2020 76ers signing. (ESPN.com)
Los Angeles Lakers official signing announcement in 2021. (NBA)