Last Updated on April 3, 2026 by Mat Diekhake
Marc Gasol’s contract history is one of the better examples of a second-round pick turning into a franchise-level NBA investment. The Lakers originally held his draft rights in 2007, Memphis acquired those rights in the Pau Gasol trade in 2008, and the Grizzlies then signed Marc and built around him through two major long-term deals before the Toronto and Lakers chapters closed out his NBA salary arc. Public salary databases do not all count his career earnings the same way, but the season-by-season salary structure below totals $185,786,591, while Spotrac’s career-earnings ranking lists him at $199,764,496. (NBA)
What makes Marc Gasol contract history a strong standalone post is that it covers several distinct phases: draft-rights movement before he ever played an NBA game, a low-cost Memphis entry deal, a 2011 re-signing worth about $58 million, a 2015 max contract widely reported around $110 million, a championship-season trade to Toronto, a player-option decision after the title, and then a late-career veteran contract with the Lakers. (SalarySwish)
Marc Gasol Contract Agreements (As Signed)
This table follows the same structure as the Dirk Nowitzki template: draft-rights events, signed contracts, trade-related contract transfers, option decisions, waivers, and retirement. The entries are compiled from NBA team releases, ESPN reporting, SalarySwish contract records, and trade logs. (HeatingUp)
| Date | Age | Team | Contract Move | Reported Terms | Seasons Affected | Clauses / Options | Detailed Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 28, 2007 | 22 | Los Angeles Lakers | Draft rights acquired on draft night | Lakers selected Gasol No. 48 overall in the 2007 NBA Draft | 2007 draft rights | Draft rights only | This is the technical starting point of Marc Gasol’s NBA contract history, even though he did not sign with the Lakers. |
| February 1, 2008 | 23 | Memphis Grizzlies | Draft rights acquired in trade | Rights to Marc Gasol moved to Memphis in the Pau Gasol blockbuster | 2008 offseason | Rights transferred from LAL to MEM | Memphis secured Marc’s NBA rights before he had signed his first NBA contract, which made this the real franchise-opening event in his salary timeline. |
| July 9, 2008 | 23 | Memphis Grizzlies | Signed rookie contract | 3 years, $9,813,333 | 2008-09 to 2010-11 | Standard entry deal | After starring in Spain, Gasol signed his first NBA contract with Memphis and immediately became part of the Grizzlies’ core. |
| December 14, 2011 | 26 | Memphis Grizzlies | Re-signed with Memphis | 4 years, $57,503,764, commonly rounded to 4 years and $58 million | 2011-12 to 2014-15 | Bird-rights veteran deal | This was the contract that elevated Gasol from useful starter to major long-term franchise investment. |
| July 13, 2015 | 30 | Memphis Grizzlies | Re-signed with Memphis | 5 years, $113,211,750; widely reported as a 5-year max worth about $110 million | 2015-16 to 2019-20 | 2019-20 player option; trade kicker later waived | Memphis doubled down on Gasol in his prime and kept one of the central figures of the Grit-and-Grind era on a full-scale max structure. |
| February 7, 2019 | 34 | Toronto Raptors | Traded to Toronto | Existing 2015 contract moved to Toronto | 2018-19 and 2019-20 | Contract rights transferred | Toronto acquired Gasol for a championship push, and the deal immediately changed the final phase of his NBA earnings profile. |
| June 26, 2019 | 34 | Toronto Raptors | Player option exercised | Accepted 2019-20 option worth $25,595,700 | 2019-20 | Player option used | After winning the 2019 title, Gasol chose to stay in Toronto for the final year of the Memphis-signed max contract. |
| November 24, 2020 | 35 | Los Angeles Lakers | Signed with Los Angeles | 2 years, $5,257,744, commonly reported as about $5.3 million | 2020-21 to 2021-22 | Straight two-year veteran-minimum structure | Gasol joined the defending champion Lakers on a much smaller contract than his previous one, marking the clear late-career phase of his salary history. |
| September 10, 2021 | 36 | Memphis Grizzlies | Traded to Memphis | Final guaranteed year of Lakers deal moved in trade | 2021-22 | Contract transferred ahead of release | The Lakers sent Gasol back to Memphis in a cost-clearing move even though a return to the Grizzlies was never going to become a real playing stop. |
| September 15, 2021 | 36 | Memphis Grizzlies | Waived | Remaining guaranteed salary stayed in effect | 2021-22 | Waiver / guaranteed money | Memphis waived Gasol days after the trade, allowing him to stay in Spain while the guaranteed second year of the Lakers contract still counted in his earnings history. |
| January 31, 2024 | 39 | — | Retired from professional basketball | Career concluded after NBA run and later play with Bàsquet Girona | End of career | Retirement | Gasol formally closed his playing career after one of the most substantial second-round contract arcs of his era. |
Marc Gasol NBA Salaries by Season (Actual Salary Paid)
For the salary table, 2018-19 is shown as one full-season row at $24,119,025 rather than being split into separate Memphis and Toronto entries, and 2021-22 remains included because the second season of his Lakers contract was guaranteed even though Memphis waived him after the trade. The annual figures are drawn from contract databases and cap tables rather than from box-score participation alone. (SalarySwish)
| Season | Age | Salary | Cumulative Career Earnings | Contract Phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | 24 | $3,093,333 | $3,093,333 | Rookie contract |
| 2009-10 | 25 | $3,240,000 | $6,333,333 | Rookie contract |
| 2010-11 | 26 | $3,480,000 | $9,813,333 | Rookie contract |
| 2011-12 | 27 | $12,922,194 | $22,735,527 | 2011 Memphis re-signing |
| 2012-13 | 28 | $13,891,359 | $36,626,886 | 2011 Memphis re-signing |
| 2013-14 | 29 | $14,860,523 | $51,487,409 | 2011 Memphis re-signing |
| 2014-15 | 30 | $15,829,688 | $67,317,097 | 2011 Memphis re-signing |
| 2015-16 | 31 | $19,689,000 | $87,006,097 | 2015 Memphis max deal |
| 2016-17 | 32 | $21,165,675 | $108,171,772 | 2015 Memphis max deal |
| 2017-18 | 33 | $22,642,350 | $130,814,122 | 2015 Memphis max deal |
| 2018-19 | 34 | $24,119,025 | $154,933,147 | Split-team season, Memphis to Toronto |
| 2019-20 | 35 | $25,595,700 | $180,528,847 | Toronto player-option year |
| 2020-21 | 36 | $2,564,753 | $183,093,600 | Lakers veteran contract |
| 2021-22 | 37 | $2,692,991 | $185,786,591 | Guaranteed second Lakers year after trade/waiver |
| TOTAL | $185,786,591 | $185,786,591 | One-row-per-season salary total |
Analysis
Marc Gasol’s contract history makes the most sense when it is divided into four phases. The first is the rights-and-arrival phase, where he went from being a Lakers second-round pick to a Grizzlies asset in the Pau Gasol trade and then signed a relatively modest three-year entry contract. The second is the establishment phase, when Memphis committed roughly $58 million to him in 2011 after he had already become one of the league’s most important two-way centers. (NBA)
The third phase is the peak-value phase. That is the most important stretch in the entire post, because the 2015 max contract locked Gasol into franchise-star money just as Memphis was trying to keep its core together. The deal also matters because it carried into the 2019 title season with Toronto, which means the Raptors benefited from a Grizzlies-built contract structure rather than having to negotiate a fresh one immediately after the trade. (ESPN.com)
The fourth phase is the veteran-endgame phase. Gasol exercised the final player option of the Memphis deal after winning a championship with Toronto, then dropped all the way down to a two-year veteran agreement with the Lakers in 2020. That is a dramatic shift in salary level, but it fits the late-career reality of a center who was still smart, useful, and respected, even after the star-level earning phase of his career had ended. (NBA)
From an SEO point of view, Marc Gasol contract history is stronger than a lot of player salary pages because the contracts map directly onto recognizable career moments: the Pau trade connection, the rise of Grit and Grind, the 2015 max, the 2019 Raptors title, and the final Lakers stop. That gives the page more value than a thin list of numbers, because readers can see not only what Gasol earned, but why his earning power changed from one phase of his career to the next. (NBA)
Sources:
Spotrac contract profile and career-earnings ranking. (spotrac.com)
SalarySwish contract history and trade log. (SalarySwish)
NBA / Grizzlies / Lakers official releases on the rights trade, 2008 signing, 2011 re-signing, 2015 re-signing, 2019 Toronto trade, 2019 option, 2020 Lakers signing, and 2021 Memphis waiver. (NBA)
ESPN reporting on the 2015 max deal and the 2020 Lakers agreement. (ESPN.com)
Salary and cap-table references for season figures. (ESPN.com)