The family and estate of Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke will receive his full $12.5 million salary for the upcoming NBA season following his death at age 29. Initial reports suggested the Grizzlies were set to void the final year of his four-year, $50 million contract, but his estate will benefit from his remaining wages.
The full $12.5 million is expected to be paid out to Clarke's grieving family through life insurance, according to Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor. The deal was reportedly negotiated for Memphis to reimburse for life insurance to protect against the possibility of death, which is a customary approach to player contracts across the NBA.
Priority Sports, the agency that represented Clarke in his NBA career, confirmed the news in a statement to O'Connor. Priority Sports' Mark Bartelstein said, "Brandon's contract was fully protected for a God-forbid occurrence." He added, "So Brandon's family and his estate are fully protected in Brandon's contract….The support that the entire Grizzlies organization has shown to Brandon's family during this devastating time has been beyond words."
Overdose and Police Investigation
Clarke was found unresponsive in a San Fernando Valley home on May 11, and according to LA County investigators at the time, drug paraphernalia was found at the scene. The Los Angeles County's medical examiner confirmed earlier this month that Clarke died from an accidental overdose, specifically "the effects of heroin and cocaine." He died just four months before his 30th birthday on September 19.
A Vancouver native who starred at Gonzaga before being drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2019, Clarke had been on a downward trend before his passing. Most notably, he was arrested in Arkansas for allegedly passing multiple vehicles at over 100mph in a no-passing zone.
Arkansas Arrest and Kratom Warnings
Footage of the arrest surfaced last month, showing the moment authorities found kratom in Clarke's vehicle. Known otherwise as "gas station heroin," kratom is illegal in Arkansas, although Clarke can be heard insisting in the police footage, "It's just kratom, it is legal." Officers were also seen inspecting other substances packaged with names such as "gold rhino."
Six weeks after that footage was recorded, Clarke was found dead in the San Fernando Valley. The American Food and Drug Administration strongly recommends against using kratom and even warns it can cause "liver toxicity, seizures, substance use disorder" and "in rare cases, deaths have been associated with kratom use... in combination with other drugs." The Mayo Clinic adds that "people who take kratom believe that it helps them. But kratom hasn't been shown to be safe or to treat any medical conditions."
At the time of his death, the Grizzlies released a statement honoring the late forward. "We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke," the Grizzlies said. "Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten."
