Summary of the Case:
The Israeli club BC Hapoel Holon filed a claim against the US player Chris Johnson (198-SF-1990, college: Dayton) seeking a USD 60,000 buyout fee, contending that he had exercised the opt-out clause in his 2022 contract and then failed to pay the agreed buyout. The player argued the termination had in fact been mutual, given the club's financial difficulties, and that the club had acted in bad faith by never raising the buyout clause at the time. The Arbitrator found that the player's written notice had triggered the opt-out clause, making him liable in principle for the buyout, but, deciding ex aequo et bono, reduced the amount to USD 20,000 the figure the club itself would have paid had it exercised its own termination option in light of the club's failure to flag the clause in good faith. The Arbitrator dismissed the club's additional damages claims as unsubstantiated and rejected the player's request to offset a transfer payment the club received from Hapoel Jerusalem, with arbitration costs and legal fees split between the parties.

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Courtesy of: FIBA