Stephen Curry on his contract: 'There's nothing I can do about it'
Stephen Curry acknowledged that he does think about his ridiculously team-friendly contract, but he’s learned to let it go because he can’t change it.
Curry signed a 4-year, $44 million contract in 2012 when he was a risky bet due to recurring ankle issues. Now, he’s the fifth-highest-paid player on Golden State despite being the reigning MVP and the star of the NBA’s biggest juggernaut. It would be easy to understand if he were angry about it, but Curry takes it in stride.
“I had to make a conscious decision and remind myself over and over [to let it go],” Curry told Yahoo Sports’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “I could’ve had a different perspective and said, ‘I want to get everything that I could get, wait it out, test free agency that next year' -- and who knows what would’ve happened? But for me, a $44 million contract was plenty for me to be able to provide for my family. When I made a decision to sign an extension, I told myself that was the right decision for the moment.
“And, yeah, you should get paid market value, paid for what you’re worth, but at the time, for four years, I was comfortable with it. You can’t look back because it’ll bring negativity. It’ll cause dissension in the team if you allow it to.”
Curry elected the financial security of Golden State’s offer, just in case his ankles didn’t hold out. They have, and he’s in line for a huge payday in about a year and a half.
“After three years, I’ve still got to remind myself every day,” Curry told Yahoo Sports. “No. 1, there’s nothing I can do about it. There’s no point to moaning and complaining and trying to change something that really can’t be changed. I knew there might be a time down the road, after all the ankle injuries, that if I’m playing to my potential, it’s going to be human nature to think, ‘Oh, I should’ve done this or that. ...’
“At the time, the counsel that I got from my family, my agent, myself, was that it was the right decision to make. With that, I could take care of my family and be good. And hopefully, anything that happened after that would just be icing on the cake.”
Curry’s contract has meant unintentional benefits. Golden State has been able to afford the supporting cast that helped win a title, and his power as far as endorsement deals has skyrocketed.
“On the back end, when this is all said and done, things will come around the right way,” Curry said. “It’s nice to know that I got a championship out of it, an MVP season out of it, and hopefully setting up for something better down the line.
“I’m taken care of, and I’m thankful that I can be on the court able to play at a high level. I’m thankful it’s not the other way around, that I didn’t become an overpaid player. That’s a different conversation.”
Curry is taking his contract in stride. His patience likely will be richly rewarded come 2017.
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