Former Miami Heat point guard Terry Rozier has been ordered to surrender most of his $26.6 million salary for the 2025-26 season, according to a recent arbitrator's ruling — a forfeiture so large it stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the heaviest penalties in casino history.
Key takeaways
- The same arbitrator who earlier ruled that the NBA could not withhold Rozier's pay has now accepted the league's argument that his bond conditions stop him from honouring his contract.
- Rozier, waived by the Heat in April 2026, pleaded not guilty to two added charges on 10 June; his trial is set for 8 February 2027.
- Co-defendant Damon Jones pleaded guilty in April, the first of more than 30 people charged in the two federal cases.
- The sum rivals landmark casino sanctions, including the fines imposed on Wynn Resorts and Steve Wynn.
The decision follows Rozier's arrest in October 2025 in connection with a federal gambling investigation. The arbitrator concluded that the terms of his release conflicted with his contractual obligations, and that the conflict triggered the forfeiture of most of his salary.
How the Arbitration Swung Against Him
The ruling reverses the direction of an earlier fight over Rozier's pay. The NBA placed him on unpaid leave at the end of October, six days after his arrest. The National Basketball Players Association challenged that move and won: the arbitrator found the league had breached the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which reserves unpaid leave for players involved in domestic violence or child abuse cases.
The league then took a different route, and the same arbitrator agreed with it. The NBA argued that Rozier's bond conditions, which barred cross-country travel and any contact with the Heat or his former club, the Charlotte Hornets, made it impossible for him to perform the services his contract required. That reasoning carried the day.
Rozier's lawyers have asked the court to take the Hornets and their current and former staff off his no-contact list, leaving only a ban on discussing the case with them. In their filing they warned that NBA free agency opens on 30 June and that the restriction could shut him out of the league entirely.
"With forced inactivity, Mr. Rozier is facing a potential second season of non-participation despite being entitled to a presumption of innocence."
— Rozier's attorneys, in a court filing
A Penalty on Par With Casino-World Sanctions
The scale of the forfeiture invites comparison with the largest fines ever handed down in the casino industry — and it holds up.
For Scale: Landmark Casino Penalties
- $130 million — Wynn Resorts forfeiture (2024) for enabling unlicensed money transfers to gamblers; the largest figure cited.
- $35 million — Massachusetts gaming regulators' fine on Wynn Resorts (2019) over its handling of misconduct allegations against former owner Steve Wynn.
- $20 million — an additional fine imposed by Nevada regulators.
- $10 million — the personal penalty levied on Steve Wynn himself.
The Wynn cases show how those numbers were reached. Nevada's $20 million penalty on Wynn Resorts, agreed in February 2019, was the largest in the state's history at the time, and Massachusetts followed two months later with its $35 million fine. Both followed the sexual misconduct allegations against the company's founder that were published in 2018 and led him to resign, sell his shares and give up his Nevada gaming licence.
The personal sanction came much later. In July 2023 the Nevada Gaming Commission approved a $10 million settlement with Steve Wynn, the biggest disciplinary penalty Nevada regulators had ever imposed on an individual, ending a complaint filed in October 2019. Under the deal he agreed never again to serve as an officer or executive of a Nevada gaming company.
The Charges Against Rozier
Rozier's release had stipulated that he have no contact with former team personnel — a condition the arbitrator deemed incompatible with his contract. He now faces charges of sports bribery, honest services wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Federal investigators allege that bettors paid Rozier $100,000 in exchange for advance notice that he intended to leave a March 2023 game early — information that could be used to wager against his on-court production.
That game was a Hornets meeting with the New Orleans Pelicans. Prosecutors say Rozier tipped off his childhood friend and co-defendant Deniro Laster, who sold the information on to bettors backing "under" props on Rozier's numbers. Rozier left during a first-quarter timeout after fewer than 10 minutes on court, with five points, four rebounds and two assists, citing a foot problem, and did not return.
The case began with two conspiracy counts, wire fraud and money laundering, filed in October 2025. In May 2026 prosecutors added bribery in sporting contests and honest services wire fraud conspiracy. The same month, co-defendant Marves Fairley, a 40-year-old sports betting influencer, admitted profiting from tips passed on by players when wagering on games in the United States and China, telling the court:
"I agreed to pay a player to change their game performance to give me an advantage on bets I placed for myself and others."
— Marves Fairley, co-defendant, addressing Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo
On 10 June Rozier pleaded not guilty to the new counts in Brooklyn federal court. U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall set trial for 8 February 2027 while she weighs his motion to dismiss and his request to loosen the bail terms. The NBA opposes that request; the Hornets have not taken a position. His lawyer, Jim Trusty, attacked the league outside court:
"The NBA literally has flagrantly fouled the presumption of innocence. They should be ashamed of themselves."
— Jim Trusty, attorney for Terry Rozier
A Career in Limbo
Rozier was the 16th pick in the 2015 draft, chosen by the Boston Celtics. He joined Charlotte in a 2019 sign-and-trade and started there for four and a half seasons before a January 2024 trade sent him to Miami in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a protected first-round pick. He played one game of the 2025-26 season before being ordered away from the team, and the Heat waived him on 10 April 2026.
Whatever happens in court, a return is far from certain. The league has already shown how it treats proven betting misconduct: Jontay Porter was banned for life after disclosing confidential information to sports bettors.
Part of a Wider Investigation
Rozier is not the only high-profile name caught up in the probe. The investigation has also implicated former NBA player Damon Jones and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, who face charges tied to “rigged poker games” said to involve organized-crime figures.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York announced both indictments on 23 October 2025. The poker case also named members of the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese crime families. Prosecutors say the games were rigged with hidden-camera chip trays, card-reading contact lenses and glasses, card-reading shuffling machines and even an X-ray table. Billups, who was head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers when he was arrested, was put on unpaid leave afterwards.
Earlier reports had said Jones was expected to plead guilty, and he did so on 28 April 2026, admitting to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in back-to-back hearings covering both cases. Sentencing guidelines put him at 21 to 27 months in the betting case and 48 to 63 months in the poker case. He agreed to pay $73,000 and is due to be sentenced on 6 January 2027. Rozier and Billups, for their part, continue to maintain not-guilty pleas.
