Overview
- Brandon Clarke was found unresponsive in a San Fernando Valley home and pronounced dead on May 11, 2026, and the Los Angeles County medical examiner ruled his cause of death an accidental overdose on Aug. 7, 2026.
- The Grizzlies terminated Clarke’s contract on July 3, 2026, and the team will not carry the $12.5 million toward its 2026–27 salary cap.
- An Aug. 13 report said the final year would not be paid, but multiple NBA sources and Clarke’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed Aug. 14–15 that the team purchased life insurance that will pay the $12.5 million to Clarke’s estate.
- Clarke had already been paid the $12.5 million owed for the 2025–26 season and the remaining semi-monthly installments from that season will continue to be disbursed to his estate through Oct. 16, 2026.
- The case highlights how teams and agents use team-purchased life insurance to protect guaranteed pay in deaths and how such policies let a club seek salary-cap relief while ensuring the player’s family receives the payout.