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Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk Nowitzki gets a pay raise

Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki agreed to a two-year, $40 million deal earlier in free agency, but now that contract is getting upped to $50 million over two years, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.

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It also reported that the second year of the contract is guaranteed for $5 million of the $25 million at the Mavericks’ option. It’s the same thing that many feel should have happened to Dwyane Wade, who was never the highest-paid player for the Heat, and left for the Bulls and a two-year, $47 million deal. “Period. End of story”. That’s $10 million more than the 38-year-old veteran was set to make when he agreed to his new deal with the team earlier this month, and several Scrooge McDuck-sized money vaults more than he had been making with the Mavs previously. For the past two seasons he earned a combined $16 million before opting out of the third year of that deal. The Mavs, however, missed on multiple free-agent targets and have failed to get out of the first round since their 2011 title run, although Nowitzki led them in scoring again this past season. They signed Harrison Barnes to a four-year max offer sheet that the Golden State Warriors didn’t match because of the Kevin Durant signing, and Dallas also took Andrew Bogut off the Warriors’ hands.

Nowitzki averaged 18.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last season, his 18th year in the league.

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Nowitzki has acknowledged in the past that his decision to stay in Dallas would be much more hard if the Mavs hadn’t broken through to win their first title in 2011.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports