INDIANAPOLIS – Two Indiana Pacers players, Jay Huff and Kam Jones, have unique salary guarantee language in their contracts that are topical due to how much, or little, they have played this season to date.
Huff was acquired by the Pacers in an offseason trade with Memphis, meaning Huff negotiated and signed his ongoing contract while with the Grizzlies. He’s in year two of a four-year agreement that could reach up to $10.1 million in total value.
Only the first two seasons of Huff’s contract were fully guaranteed, though. He had to reach certain playing time thresholds for the final two seasons to become guaranteed, and he hit the first one while with the Grizzlies. For the 2026-27 campaign, Huff’s contract originally only guaranteed him $380k, but the full $2.66 million is now owed to Huff since he met one of his payout triggers.
To guarantee the full amount for the upcoming season, Huff had to play either 825 minutes or appear in 55 games in one of the 2024-25 or 2025-26 seasons. The five-year pro met that threshold with Memphis by appearing in 64 games in 2024-25.
He was then traded to the Pacers with two more guaranteed years in his contract. And Huff had the same incentive structure governing the 2027-28 season – it was only guaranteed for $427k, but all of the money would come Huff’s way if he played in 55 games or crossed 825 minutes played in either 2025-26 or 2026-27.
Huff reached the latter of those marks this week. In a win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Virginia product played for 29:15, meaning his total minutes for Indiana this year reached 846. His contract for the 2027-28 season is now fully guaranteed.
That is, if an option in Huff’s contract is exercised. The Pacers center has a team option covering that 2027-28 league year, and if that option is declined his contract will end after 2026-27. If the Pacers (or whatever team Huff is on at the time) picks up the team options on or before June 30, 2027, then Huff’s contract will pay out a fully guaranteed $3 million in its final season.
The big man has started often for the blue and gold and earned the minutes he has gotten, which made clearing the 825 minutes mark simple. “We try to play the Indiana way… it’s been a lot of fun,” Huff said of his time with the Pacers so far. He’s figured out the many things he needs to do in his role as the season has progressed.
What’s the latest with Pacers rookie Kam Jones’ contract?
Jones, meanwhile, has essentially the opposite reality that Huff does. He signed a four-year contract with the Pacers after being drafted by the franchise back in June, but his deal has a unique structure. Using the second-round pick exception, Indiana started the Marquette product’s contract at the lowest first-year value possible.
While in total Jones’ contract spans four years, only the first one is fully guaranteed. In the ongoing campaign, the rookie guard has a $1.3 million cap hit. That number climbs in future seasons.
In 2026-27, Jones is due $2.15 million. But only half of that salary is guaranteed to the rookie guard, and the final two seasons of the deal are non-guaranteed. The 23-year old is playing both to prove he belongs and to have more money come his way.
For next season, Jones can up the amount of his contract that is guaranteed to him if he plays in 41 games during 2025-26. Should he reach that number of appearances, the entire $2.15 million would be on the Pacers’ books next season. But things are currently trending in the wrong direction for the rookie.
Jones suffered a back injury before training camp and missed the Pacers first 28 games this season. Since then, the young guard has played in 12 of the team’s 17 (71%) games, putting him at a dozen appearances 45 games into the season.
“Injury, no, I’m fine,” Jones said earlier this week. “But as far as conditioning goes, I mean, yeah, it never really stops,” he added of his re-conditioning level.
For Jones to reach 41 games played this season, he would need to appear in 29 of Indiana’s final 37 (78%) games. That’s possible – Jones has been playing more of late and has reps under his belt in the G League. But the rookie can’t miss much more time if he wants his contract fully guaranteed before the offseason even starts, and one injury would be damaging for his chances.
Despite Jones’ contract only being 50% guaranteed for next season, waiving him for a small amount of savings may not be in the Pacers best interest anyway. The Tennessee native would have to turn in a rough rookie year to be waived before his contract guarantees for next season anyway. But Jones can avoid that risk entirely if he’s able to get on the court more often in NBA games down the stretch.
“I feel good. I feel confident in myself to be ready the next time I go out there and be more productive,” Jones said of his recent NBA appearances.
While neither of these points of clarity involving Huff or Jones and their salary impacts the Pacers ongoing season, they are still important contract details for a team facing many decisions at the upcoming trade deadline. Their starting center and top pick from the most recent draft are both of note on a day-to-day basis.