Last Updated on April 3, 2026 by Mat Diekhake
Rajon Rondo’s contract history is far less linear than the one-franchise model used in the Dirk Nowitzki template. Rondo started with Boston on a rookie-scale deal, signed a major five-year extension in 2009, and then spent the rest of his career moving through Dallas, Sacramento, Chicago, New Orleans, two Lakers stints, Atlanta, the Clippers, Cleveland, and a Memphis buyout stop before officially retiring on April 2, 2024. (shamsports.com)
Spotrac lists Rajon Rondo’s NBA career earnings at $115,777,250. That total gives this post more than just archival value, because Rondo’s salary path covers nearly every major contract phase a veteran guard can hit: rookie-scale years, a breakout extension, an expiring-contract trade, a partially guaranteed veteran deal, multiple one-year contender contracts, an incentive-laden stop in Atlanta, and a late-career buyout cycle. (spotrac.com)
Rajon Rondo Contract Agreements (As Signed)
This table tracks each major contract event as Rondo and his teams agreed to it at the time: draft-rights movement, rookie deal, team-option decisions, extension, free-agent contracts, waivers, trades, buyout, and retirement endpoint. The terms below are compiled from Spotrac, SalarySwish, ShamSports, ESPN, and official team/NBA announcements. (spotrac.com)
| DATE | AGE | TEAM | CONTRACT MOVE | REPORTED TERMS | SEASONS AFFECTED | CLAUSES / OPTIONS | DETAILED NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 28, 2006 | 20 | Boston Celtics | Draft rights acquired on draft night | Phoenix drafted Rondo No. 21 overall, then traded his rights, Brian Grant, and cash to Boston for a 2007 first-round pick | 2006 draft rights | Draft-night trade | This is the real starting point of Rajon Rondo’s NBA contract history, because Boston — not Phoenix — became the team that controlled his first NBA contract. |
| July 3, 2006 | 20 | Boston Celtics | Signed rookie-scale contract | 4 years, $5,782,883 | 2006-07 to 2009-10 | Team options for 2008-09 and 2009-10 | ShamSports logs this as a four-year rookie-scale contract, while ESPN’s contemporaneous reporting emphasized that the first two seasons were guaranteed and the last two were club-option years. |
| October 30, 2007 | 21 | Boston Celtics | Team option exercised | 2008-09 option picked up | 2008-09 | Team option | Boston exercised the third-year option early, a sign that Rondo had already become part of the club’s long-term plan. |
| October 31, 2008 | 22 | Boston Celtics | Team option exercised | 2009-10 option picked up | 2009-10 | Team option | This completed the full rookie-scale run and kept Rondo under team control through the end of the 2009-10 season. |
| November 2, 2009 | 23 | Boston Celtics | Signed designated rookie extension | 5 years, $55,000,000 | 2010-11 to 2014-15 | No player option; full guarantee | This was the signature contract of Rondo’s prime. Boston extended him before he ever reached free agency, locking in the starting point guard from its championship core on a long-term deal. |
| December 18, 2014 | 28 | Dallas Mavericks | Traded to Dallas | Existing expiring 2014-15 salary moved to Mavericks | 2014-15 | Final year of 2009 extension | The Celtics dealt Rondo in the last year of his extension, ending the Boston phase of his contract history and turning him into one of the bigger in-season rental stories of that era. |
| July 13, 2015 | 29 | Sacramento Kings | Signed veteran contract | 1 year, $9,500,000 | 2015-16 | No options | Sacramento gave Rondo a one-year prove-it contract after his Dallas exit. It was a reset deal rather than another long-term commitment. |
| July 7, 2016 | 30 | Chicago Bulls | Signed veteran contract | About 2 years, $28 million; cap sites log total value at $28,797,000 with only $17,000,000 guaranteed | 2016-17 to 2017-18 | Partial guarantee on second season | Chicago gave Rondo a meaningful short-term deal, but the structure protected the Bulls heavily because the second year was not fully guaranteed. |
| June 30, 2017 | 31 | Chicago Bulls | Waived / bought out by Chicago | Bulls retained $3,000,000 for 2017-18 instead of letting the full second year guarantee | 2017-18 dead money | Partial guarantee triggered, full guarantee avoided | Chicago got out before the larger 2017-18 number became fully locked in. That made this one of the more important procedural contract turns in Rondo’s career. |
| July 20, 2017 | 31 | New Orleans Pelicans | Signed veteran contract | 1 year, $3,300,000 | 2017-18 | Short-term deal | Rondo turned the Chicago exit into a one-year Pelicans contract that ended up becoming one of his better late-career fits, especially in the playoffs. |
| July 6, 2018 | 32 | Los Angeles Lakers | Signed veteran contract | 1 year, $9,000,000 | 2018-19 | No options | The Lakers gave Rondo a much stronger one-year salary than New Orleans did, bringing him into the first LeBron James season in Los Angeles. |
| July 8, 2019 | 33 | Los Angeles Lakers | Re-signed with Lakers | 1 year plus player option, $5,257,744 total | 2019-20 to 2020-21 | 2020-21 player option | This was a smaller follow-up deal than the prior Lakers contract, but it kept Rondo in place for the eventual 2020 title run. |
| October 15, 2020 | 34 | Los Angeles Lakers | Player option declined | Declined 2020-21 player option worth $2,692,991 | 2020 offseason | Became unrestricted free agent | Rondo chose not to stay on the second year of the Lakers deal and reopened the market after winning another championship. |
| November 22, 2020 | 34 | Atlanta Hawks | Signed veteran contract | Reported as 2 years, $15,000,000; cap sites log $16,500,000 total with $15,000,000 guaranteed and $1,500,000 in likely incentives | 2020-21 to 2021-22 | Incentive structure; no option needed to reach second year | Atlanta paid for veteran leadership and playoff experience, but the deal still stopped well short of the Boston-extension level money from Rondo’s prime. |
| March 25, 2021 | 35 | LA Clippers | Traded to Clippers | Existing Hawks contract moved to Clippers | 2020-21 to 2021-22 | Contract carried over | Atlanta moved Rondo to the Clippers for Lou Williams, two future second-round picks, and cash considerations, turning his Hawks contract into another midstream contender stop. |
| August 16, 2021 | 35 | Memphis Grizzlies | Traded to Memphis | Existing final Hawks/Clippers contract year moved to Memphis in Eric Bledsoe trade | 2021-22 | Expiring year moved again | Rondo did not stay in Memphis long, but the trade matters because it set up the buyout that launched his final Lakers stint. |
| August 28, 2021 | 35 | Memphis Grizzlies | Contract buyout / waived | Buyout left $4,858,309 in dead money on Memphis’ books; ESPN reported he would still make his full $7.5 million for the season between the buyout and his next deal | 2021-22 | Buyout | This was the late-career contract unwind phase: Rondo went from traded veteran to bought-out free agent in less than two weeks. |
| August 31, 2021 | 35 | Los Angeles Lakers | Signed veteran minimum contract | 1 year, $2,641,691 | 2021-22 | Minimum contract | Rondo returned to the Lakers on a low-cost deal, completing one of the more circular contract turns of his career. |
| January 3, 2022 | 35 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Traded to Cleveland | Existing Lakers minimum deal moved to Cavaliers | 2021-22 | Trade; no new contract signed | Cleveland acquired Rondo after Ricky Rubio’s injury, meaning Rondo’s final active NBA contract season ended with yet another midyear change of team. |
| April 2, 2024 | 38 | — | Retired from professional basketball | Career earnings finished at $115,777,250 | End of career | Retirement | Rondo’s retirement closed a 16-season contract history that began with one long Boston extension and then shifted into a decade of short-term, trade-driven, and buyout-shaped movement. |
The contract-agreement table above combines the key dates and structures from the major public contract databases with the contemporaneous reporting that explained why the deals were made the way they were. (spotrac.com)
Rajon Rondo NBA Salaries by Season (Actual Salary Paid)
This table tracks Rondo’s season-by-season pay and cumulative career earnings. For split years, it follows actual cash earned rather than just a clean single-team salary line, which is why 2017-18 combines Chicago dead money with New Orleans salary, 2020-21 includes the earned incentive money tied to his Hawks contract, and 2021-22 combines Memphis buyout money with the Lakers/Cavaliers season. (spotrac.com)
| SEASON | AGE | SALARY PAID | CUMULATIVE CAREER EARNINGS | CONTRACT PHASE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | 20 | $1,143,600 | $1,143,600 | Rookie contract |
| 2007-08 | 21 | $1,229,280 | $2,372,880 | Rookie contract |
| 2008-09 | 22 | $1,315,080 | $3,687,960 | Rookie option year |
| 2009-10 | 23 | $2,094,922 | $5,782,882 | Final rookie-contract year |
| 2010-11 | 24 | $9,090,911 | $14,873,793 | 2009 Boston extension |
| 2011-12 | 25 | $8,085,366 | $22,959,159 | 2009 Boston extension (lockout-prorated) |
| 2012-13 | 26 | $11,000,000 | $33,959,159 | 2009 Boston extension |
| 2013-14 | 27 | $11,954,545 | $45,913,704 | 2009 Boston extension |
| 2014-15 | 28 | $12,909,090 | $58,822,794 | Final Boston extension year / traded to Dallas |
| 2015-16 | 29 | $9,500,000 | $68,322,794 | Sacramento prove-it deal |
| 2016-17 | 30 | $14,000,000 | $82,322,794 | Chicago contract |
| 2017-18 | 31 | $6,300,000 | $88,622,794 | Bulls retained salary + Pelicans deal |
| 2018-19 | 32 | $9,000,000 | $97,622,794 | Lakers one-year contract |
| 2019-20 | 33 | $2,404,456 | $100,027,250 | Lakers re-signing / title season |
| 2020-21 | 34 | $8,250,000 | $108,277,250 | Hawks contract / traded to Clippers |
| 2021-22 | 35 | $7,500,000 | $115,777,250 | Memphis buyout money + Lakers/Cavaliers split season |
| TOTAL | — | $115,777,250 | $115,777,250 | Full NBA career |
Analysis
The defining contract in Rajon Rondo’s career was still the Boston extension. His rookie-scale years were inexpensive, but once the Celtics committed five years and $55 million in November 2009, Rondo’s salary record started to reflect his place as a core piece of a contender rather than just a young rotation guard. That contract also gave Boston a long runway before the eventual 2014 trade to Dallas. (espn.com)
The second phase of Rondo’s contract history is the most unusual one. After Dallas, he never again landed a long, prime-value contract. Instead, he moved through a one-year Sacramento deal, a Chicago agreement with only partial protection on year two, a Chicago exit that left $3 million in dead money, then a short Pelicans contract that restored some of his value before the Lakers paid him $9 million in 2018. That stretch is what makes Rajon Rondo contract history more interesting than a normal stat-only salary page, because the contract structure kept changing with his role and market. (SalarySwish)
The final phase is the late-career contender and buyout cycle. Rondo won a title with the Lakers, declined his option, signed with Atlanta, got traded to the Clippers, was flipped to Memphis, agreed to a buyout, returned to the Lakers, and then finished his last NBA contract season in Cleveland before retiring in 2024. When all of that is put next to the earnings table, the post does more than show salary totals — it shows how Rondo’s value evolved from franchise point guard to veteran specialist whose contract history was shaped as much by timing, fit, and team context as by raw production. (ESPN.com)
Sources:
Spotrac — Rajon Rondo contract page, yearly cash table, and career-earnings data. (spotrac.com)
SalarySwish — Rajon Rondo contract details, dead-cap entries, buyout details, and salary structure. (SalarySwish)
ShamSports — Rajon Rondo player transaction history and rookie-contract details. (shamsports.com)
ESPN — 2009 extension, 2016 Bulls deal, 2017 waiver, 2017 Pelicans agreement, 2018 and 2021 Lakers deals, 2020 Hawks deal, 2021 Clippers trade, 2021 Grizzlies buyout path, 2022 Cavaliers trade, and 2024 retirement. (espn.com)
NBA.com — official Celtics extension release and Pelicans signing announcement. (NBA)