Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas played his last game as part of the Washington Wizards in 2011, but his paychecks as part of his contract kept rolling in.

In a recent interview on VladTV, Arenas shared that he continued collecting payments until 2016.

“So for five years you got to just sit around on your couch,” DJ Vlad said with a laugh. “Cause you were like one of the highest-paid players that wasn’t actually even playing. That was wild!”

Arenas believes the payouts weren’t without reason or undeserved. Here’s why.

“I earned every dollar of it”
Arenas was a tremendous point guard for much of the early-2000s. In fact, Agent Zero was told his performance with the Washington Wizards during that period helped the team stay afloat after it lost NBA legend Michael Jordan.

That’s what convinced owner Abe Pollin to offer him a $111 million, six-year contract in 2008.

“I get the call from Abe Pollin. And he says, ‘Whatever you want, you did what you said you were gonna do. You got me out of my Jordan era, you turned this franchise around, and I owe you whatever you want,'” Arenas recalled on an episode of his own podcast, “No Chill with Gilbert Arenas.”

Although he only played for three years into that contract, which got extended, Arenas insisted he deserved the full payout. “I earned every dollar of it,” he said.

He compared athletes to employees and said the owners are paying for them based on their “potential” and the hard work they’re willing to do. “When we sit here and complain about people’s money, remember someone’s giving them that. It’s a value to that person. You don’t know what that person’s done to get that … It’s not always about the numbers that you see.”

This perspective offers some key lessons for ordinary workers.