Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics has reportedly expressed concern over the NBA’s return-to-play plan and is reluctant to risk his health.
Tatum is a player who will be eligible for a max contract extension in the offseason, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News notes.
Along with the risk of contracting coronavirus and being away from family (Tatum has a two-year-old son), there is the threat of injury which is especially significant to players who expect to get big contracts in the near future, like Tatum.
A group of young players and members of the 2017 NBA Draft class including Tatum, Bam Adebayo, De’Aaron Fox, Kyle Kuzma and Donovan Mitchell previously expressed interest about the possibility of insurance policies to protect against career-threatening injuries in Orlando.
These insurance policies could reportedly cost around $500,000 for players who sign extensions worth more than $100 million.
The NBA informed players that they should make a decision on whether they will play in the season’s restart by June 24.
