National Basketball Association

Cha-ching! Carmelo reportedly lands obscene $62M advance in Knicks deal

Published Aug. 16, 2014 6:14 p.m. ET

foxsports

Carmelo Anthony might be losing some weight during the offseason because of his diet, but his pockets are only getting fatter.

Anthony signed a five-year, $124 million deal to remain with the New York Knicks in July, and is taking an advance payment of over $62 million — 50 percent of his contract — according to Wall Street Journal sources.

The total advance is the maximum amount the seven-time All-Star can take under league rules. The contract he signed to stay in the Big Apple is the fourth largest of all time, trailing only Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O’Neal, Kevin Garnett and Rashard Lewis in amount. Anthony started a venture capital firm days after his new deal, which could be the reason why he's taking so much of the money upfront.

Anthony isn’t the first player in the league to take a 50 percent advance on his contract. In fact, he’s not even the first to do so on his team. J.R. Smith took a 50 percent advance on his $18 million deal last season.

And while Anthony insists he returned to New York to win a championship under team president Phil Jackson, you can bet he’s not complaining about his new abundance of cash, either.

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