Prior to his Achilles injury, DeMarcus Cousins was one of the best offensive centers in the league and was playing himself into a max contract offer from the New Orleans Pelicans. When he signed with the Warriors for the mid-level exception, he did so hoping to play himself into a mid-sized contract. Now with his second major injury in consecutive seasons, one has to wonder how much money he has lost over this stretch of time.

Ken Berger of Bleacher Report spoke to a Western Conference executive about exactly how much money Cousins’ injuries have cost him in the aggregate:

“It’s going to be an enormous loss for him,” a Western Conference executive told Bleacher Report. “He might end up in a situation where these injuries cost him $150 million. It’ll have a profound impact.”

A five-year maximum contract with the Pelicans in the 2018 offseason would be worth $177.2 million. Even if he only got three or four years, that is already $99-137 million in guaranteed salary that his injury costed him.

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Pelicans offered Cousins a two-year $40 million during the 2017-18 season shortly after he injured his Achilles, which he declined. It is unknown whether the full amount was completely guaranteed or if there were any incentives that would allow Cousins to reach $40 million. That extension, if accepted, would’ve helped him recoup a large portion of the money his injury has costed him.

His durability will be the most important factor with Cousins going forward, and it could scare a lot of teams away from offering him a contract this summer:

“Achilles to quad, that’s definitely to me a synergistic pattern of wear,” Yew said. “If you’re lacking the strength, mobility and elasticity of the Achilles, you’re going to chronically send stress upstream to that other group of musculature. He’s going to make any general manager nervous…’Can we count on this guy?'”

Cousins is eligible for a $6.4 million salary with the Warriors next season, a small raise from his current $5.3 million salary. If they re-sign him to a one-year deal for the 2019-20 season, they would have his early bird rights and would be able to sign him to a long term lucrative offer, assuming he returns strong and stays healthy. Through this route, he can become eligible for a 4-year deal worth $50 million with the Warriors. Now with his quad injury and durability in doubt, it is unclear if the Warriors want to re-sign him, which calls for uncertainty over what his next contract will look like.

One of the executives he spoke to still believes that Cousins should get another one-year contract from a team with a lot of cap space that strikes out on top free agents:

“If you’re chasing Kevin Durant and you don’t get him, what’s the next option?” the executive said. “Do you settle for Khris Middleton or Tobias Harris? A lot of teams are going to be left at the altar and are going to have to pay the max to someone who doesn’t deserve it.” Thus, even if he’s unable to secure a multiyear deal, Cousins could still stand to get a one-year payday between $10 million and $15 million from a team itching to spend. “He’ll be the Lakers’ or the Knicks’ consolation prize,” one of the Western Conference execs said.

Cousins’ free agency will be extremely fascinating as he could possibly earn as much as $10 million or more as a “consolation prize,” or he could earn as low as the minimum if no team is willing to invest fearing that he could sustain another major injury.