How Joel Embiid Negotiated His Own $196 Million Contract Extension With The 76ers!

The 7-foot-tall Joel Embiid was no sure thing as an NBA prospect: He started playing basketball only at age 16, and injuries wiped out most of his first three years with the Sixers. But the Cameroon native says his mindset has always been “nothing is going to be easy—I’ve always felt like, to earn something, I had to work harder than the typical American.” That work is paying off: He has finished second in league MVP voting in back-to-back seasons. Off the court, Forbes estimates Embiid makes $8 million annually, and next season he will begin a four-year, $196 million contract extension with the 76ers that he negotiated himself, sparing him an agent’s commission of up to 4%.