Bryce Cotton opts out of deal with Perth Wildcats

Three-time championship-winning guard Bryce Cotton has exercised his right under the NBL and the Australian Basketball Players’ Association’s collective bargaining agreement to opt out of his contract with the Perth Wildcats.

The agreement saw players taking pay cuts of up to 50 per cent for the 2020/21 season, but allowed them until 4 May to opt out of their existing contracts.

The Perth Wildcats made every effort to assist Cotton through this difficult time, and presented him with options to provide he and his family with long term security and keep him in WA.

Cotton thanked Wildcats fans in a statement on social media.

"I truly want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for showing me so much love and support in my three-and-a-half seasons with the Wildcats," he wrote.

"I can’t put into words what it has meant to me."

The Perth Wildcats are extremely disappointed to lose the NBL’s best player.

Cotton departs as a three-time champion, two-time NBL MVP, two-time Grand Final MVP and three-time Gordon Ellis Medallist.

He played 110 games for Perth after joining the team in January 2017.

The American had one-season remaining on his three-year contract with the Wildcats.