Michael Porter Jr. split rent with his ex-girlfriend despite $200m NBA contract

Michael Porter Jr. asked his girlfriend at the time to contribute to their rent despite his NBA contract worth more than $200 million.

On Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets forward spoke on Respectfully The Justin Laboy Show, where he told the podcast’s host that he wanted to make sure the woman he was dating had “the right intentions.”

“Hold on. I know you not worth $200 million and was splitting rent with your ex-girlfriend,” Laboy told Porter.

“It’s very hard when you have money to tell a woman’s intentions,” the Nets player replied. “I had never bought a girl expensive gifts before this last girl — and it was cool to do,” he said.

“But I still wanted to know that she was with me for the right reasons. Every dude in this particular person’s past had money. So I never wanted to feel like a girl was just with me because of what I have.”

Porter explained that he refused to live with his then-girlfriend unless they were married. While she was apartment hunting, she fell in love with a place that was outside her budget.

Since Porter also liked the apartment and wanted her to have it, he offered to cover the difference. As part of the arrangement, he agreed to pay the rent in full for a year—regardless of whether they stayed together.

But after the pair broke up five or six months later, Porter began questioning whether he should still be footing the bill. He said his ex has since reached out, “asking for the bread.”

“I don’t blame her because she went into that apartment not being able to afford it, and I gave her my word,” he said.

“So, why you just don’t send her her half for the rest of the year?” Laboy asked.

“Because she needs to act right month to month,” the NBA player replied. “I’m just saying. So, if I’m paying the remaining months… and I see she’s wilding. Like, bro, it’s going to be hard to continue that agreement. That’s going to be tough because if you’re out here wilding, get that next dude to pay that rent.”

Four years ago, Porter signed a $179.3 million extension to his contract with the Denver Nuggets, complete with a performance incentive that could increase the contract to $207 million. In June, the Nets traded for him and took over the contract he held with the Nuggets.

According to ESPN, he is expected to receive $38.3 million during the 2025-2026 NBA season and $40.8 million for the 2026-2027 season.