From undrafted to an $85 million man, Fred VanVleet’s bet on himself pays off big
Four years ago, Fred VanVleet hosted a party for what he hoped would be a celebration of him being selected in the 2016 NBA Draft following a standout career at Wichita State.
Instead, he watched as he was passed over 60 times. At the end of the night, VanVleet grabbed the microphone and addressed family, friends and supporters who had gathered in his hometown of Rockford, Illinois.
“Obviously I’m disappointed, but my story don’t end here,” VanVleet told the crowd. “It’s just the beginning. It wouldn’t really make sense for myself if I did get picked. I’ve been against the odds my whole life and it’s not going to stop now.”
It was that day when VanVleet’s “Bet on Yourself” mantra was born. And he was right, it was just the beginning.
VanVleet’s bet on himself paid off in a big way on Saturday when the former Shocker agreed to a four-year contract with the Toronto Raptors that will pay him $85 million. It is the largest total value for an undrafted player in NBA history.
It also makes VanVleet, who had an All-American career at WSU from 2012-16, one of the richest undrafted players in NBA history. By The Eagle’s calculations, only Wesley Matthews ($108.8 million) will have more career earnings than VanVleet ($104.2 million) as an undrafted NBA player when VanVleet’s contract ends after his age 30 season.
The Raptors made it a priority to re-sign VanVleet after a stellar four years with the organization since signing an undrafted free agent contract with them in 2016.
VanVleet steadily climbed the ranks in the organizing, helping Toronto’s D League affiliate, the Raptors 905, win the 2017 NBA D League championship in his first season. He was a spark off the bench for the Raptors in his first three seasons before his breakout performance in the 2019 playoffs.
VanVleet became a star during the 2019 NBA Finals when he averaged 14.0 points and set an NBA Finals record with 16 three-pointers made off the bench, playing a crucial role in the Raptors’ series victory over the Golden State Warriors for the franchise’s first NBA title.
VanVleet scored a playoff career-high 22 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, in Toronto’s title-clinching Game 6 win over the Warriors. No one had the ball more in their hands during crunch time than VanVleet, who delivered for the Raptors on the biggest stage.
After becoming an NBA champion, VanVleet was promoted to a full-time starter for the Raptors this past season and delivered the best statistical output of his career. VanVleet averaged 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.9 steals — all career-bests — while playing 35.7 minutes per game for the Raptors in the 2019-20 season.
VanVleet is now set to make $21.25 million per season, which is more money than he has made combined in his first four seasons with the Raptors. He had previously re-upped with Toronto before the 2018-19 season and made a total of $19.9 million before this season.
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 12:03 PM.
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