Re: Gooden's Contract Is Front-Loaded. The Morning Journal - A source confirmed Drew Gooden's contract is front-loaded, according to The MOrning News. It could be worth as much as $8 million the first year and go down in value in the final two years. The reason it's front-loaded is to ease the Cavaliers' possible hit in the luxury tax next summer. However, they'll still probably have to pay a tax, especially with forward Anderson Varejao entering free agency and James' lucrative contract extension kicking in. A source said Gooden's base contract is worth $21 million. Incentives could push it as high as $24 million. The Cavaliers still have some wiggle room to get out of paying the tax, but they'd have to dump some high-priced salaries to get under the threshold. They have almost $67 million in salaries committed for next year, not counting Varejao's new deal. He could earn as much as $6 million or $7 million a season next summer, one agent said.
