The Houston Rockets clinched a playoff spot Wednesday with a blowout 143-105 win over the Utah Jazz, officially marking Houston's return to the playoffs after five seasons on the outside looking in.
According to ESPN NBA front office insider Bobby Marks, Rockets forward Dillon Brooks triggered a $1 million bonus thanks to the feat. However, Brooks was called for his 16th technical foul of the season Wednesday after a kick to Jazz guard Collin Sexton's groin. The foul crossed Brooks past the allowed threshold of techs, and he now must serve an automatic one-game suspension.
Dillon Brooks got a technical foul after kicking Collin Sexton 😬
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 3, 2025
It's his 16th tech this season which will lead to a one-game suspension pic.twitter.com/p9hiXgnhJc
Also according to Marks, Brooks will net $872,000 of his $1 million playoff bonus when the missed pay from the one-game suspension gets factored in.
He will net $872K when factoring in a likely 1 game suspension for picking up his 16th technical. https://t.co/55k7OwtW9w
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) April 3, 2025
Still—that's a pretty nice payday.
Brooks signed a four-year, $86 million contract with the Rockets before the 2023-24 season. He has a $1 million incentive built into his deal each season according to SpoTrac
Houston (50-27) has a 2.5-game lead on the Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference's two-seed come playoff time. They finished 41-41 last season, just outside of the play-in tournament field as the 11-seed in the Western Conference. After another leap this season, the Rockets made it back to the playoffs and Brooks gets some extra coin.
He will likely serve the suspension Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, unless the league decides to rescind the technical. In that case, he'd get the full bonus, too.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dillon Brooks Already Spent a Chunk of Rockets Playoff Bonus With Latest Technical Foul.