Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier arrives for an arraignment hearing at U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on December 08, 2025 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago Getty Images
An arbitrator on Monday ruled in favor of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in a salary dispute with the NBA in the wake of his October arrest stemming from a federal investigation into illegal gambling, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald.
ESPN was the first to report the news, as Rozier’s $26.6 million salary for this season will be released to him after the arbitrator’s ruling. Rozier’s salary from the Heat was being held in an interest-bearing account since December.
But Rozier remains away from the team, as a league source indicated the Heat continues to operate under the belief that it will be allowed to trade his expiring contract ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline despite his ongoing legal issues.
Rozier’s large expiring salary could be useful in a potential trade for Milwaukee Bucks two-time NBA MVP and nine-time All-NBA forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Heat is among the teams aggressively pursuing Antetokounmpo ahead of the NBA trade deadline, according to a league source.
Rozier, 31, made an appearance in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, in December for his arraignment. Rozier pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and was released on a $3 million bond secured by his home in South Florida.
Rozier has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is accused of providing inside information to co-conspirators about his intentions to leave a March 2023 game early due to a foot injury while he was with the Charlotte Hornets, which enabled them to place large bets on him not reaching statistical thresholds.
In its indictment, the FBI alleges that Rozier told Deniro Laster, a childhood friend, that he planned to remove himself from the Hornets’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans on March 23, 2023. Laster allegedly sold this information to two betters for about $100,000.
Rozier left the game after just nine minutes with five points, four rebounds and two assists.
The indictment alleges that he paid for Laster to travel to Philadelphia to collect the proceeds from the scheme, and that Laster then drove to Rozier’s home in Charlotte, North Carolina, to count the money with him. The indictment does not detail the evidence against Rozier.
Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, has denied the allegations.
The NBA placed Rozier on paid leave shortly after his Oct. 23 arrest, with the Heat continuing to list him as “not with team” on its injury reports this season. The only regular-season game Rozier was with the Heat for was its Oct. 22 season-opening loss to the Magic in Orlando, as Rozier was then arrested the next morning at the team’s Orlando hotel.
Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) watches his teammates play against the Chicago Bulls in the first half of their NBA game at Kaseya Center on Jan. 31, 2026, in Miami. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
NO THREE-POINT CONTEST FOR HERRO
Heat guard Tyler Herro declined an invitation to try to defend his NBA’s Three-Point Contest crown this year after winning the event last year during All-Star weekend.
Instead, Herro is prioritizing his health after missing 40 of the Heat’s first 51 games this season because of various injuries. Sunday’s home win over the Chicago Bulls marked the 10th straight game that Herro has missed with a rib issue.
Herro won last year’s Three-Point Contest at Chase Center in San Francisco. This year’s Three-Point Contest is being held during All-Star Saturday on Feb. 14 at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Herro became the fifth Heat player to win the Three-Point Contest in franchise history last year, joining Glen Rice (1995), Jason Kapono (2007), Daequan Cook (2009) and James Jones (2011). The Heat is the only NBA team with five Three-Point Contest trophies.
As of now, guard Norman Powell and center Kel’el Ware are the only two players representing the Heat during All-Star Weekend this month. Powell was selected as an Eastern Conference All-Star reserve and Ware was picked to take part in the Rising Stars event.