When Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving quickly agreed to a five-year contract extension at the outset of free agency, it was initially believed that the deal called for him to receive the full 30 percent of the adjusted salary cap in 2015-16 if he met the Derrick Rose rule criteria.
However, Irving agreed to take less than the full 30 percent, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com. Irving instead agreed to take 27.5 percent of the cap if he meets the Rose rule criteria, similar to Paul George taking 27 percent when he signed his extension last offseason.
To meet the Rose rule criteria, Irving must either be voted into the All-Star Game as a starter or win NBA MVP. Given the circumstances, the former is a much more likely scenario than the latter.
Dan Feldman over at ProBasketballTalk estimated the differences in Irving's potential salary in this new deal. Irving could make about $9 million more over the life of the deal if he meets the Rose Rule criteria, but he still would be leaving about $7 million on the table by not taking the full 30 percent.
Irving did get an early termination option in his deal, so he has the chance to get his next contract sooner. Perhaps that was the compromise for not getting the full 30 percent.