LAS VEGAS — Jalen Brunson had a chance to sign his second career nine-figure contract, but he sat out.
Negotiations, if you can call them that, likely won’t begin until the stroke of midnight (Eastern Time) on Friday. However, the All-Star point guard had a guess at the team’s offer long before the legalese emerged.
The New York Knicks are about to offer Brunson everything they can, even if the deal is disproportionate to a player of his stature.
The salary the team can pay Brunson is capped to one contract, and if he waits until 2025 to become a free agent and rejoin the team, he will make far less than he could have signed.
Brunson decided long before he became eligible that he wanted to stay in New York, that he had fallen in love with this team, that he valued the safety of a dollar today over more dollars tomorrow, and that he wanted to continue to work for head coach Tom Thibodeau and his fellow Villanova players hope to challenge for a title this upcoming season and beyond.
But once Friday rolled around, Brunson had more important plans.
Instead of prioritizing business, Brunson was relaxing with his dear friend and teammate Josh Hart. He was so eager to continue hanging out with his team that he delayed re-signing… because he was too busy hanging out with his team.
Build a statue for him 🥲
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) July 12, 2024
Brunson put pen to paper on his contract extension on Friday afternoon, marking a historic moment for the Knicks. No one else in league history has recommitted to a team in this way.
The extension will pay him $156.5 million over four years, $113 million less than the guaranteed money he would receive if he waits until free agency. Never has a player left so much money on the table – especially so early in his prime.
The most famous cases of deep discounting in the NBA occur with players who have already received huge paydays. Dirk Nowitzki returned to the Dallas Mavericks in 2014 on a three-year, $25 million deal that would have made him nearly four times that much if he chose, but Nowitzki was already 30 Many years old. Tim Duncan cut most of his salary so he could play permanently for the San Antonio Spurs, but by then he was already a veteran.
Brunson opted for a cheaper deal today rather than become a free agent in a year, when he would be eligible for a max deal expected to be worth $269.1 million over five years.
There are some financial arguments as to why locking up this money is worth it. Brunson appreciates the security the extension provides. That’s still more than some CEOs make in a lifetime. He can also protect himself from harm.
Signing the extension now also makes him eligible for the next extension a year earlier than if he had waited until free agency to sign a five-year deal. Those extra 365 days can be significant.
But this is a remarkable moment for a reason. The Knicks are now in an era destined to be dominated by punitive collective bargaining agreements that would stifle any ultra-expensive team’s flexibility.
In dollar terms alone, Brunson just enacted the largest financial aid package in NBA history.
And it’s still far away.
He signed with one priority in mind: taking all reasonable steps to pursue that ring. The Knicks can now move on as they signed Brunson to a team-friendly contract through at least 2028. It comes with all the bells and whistles, including a 15% trading commission, an affiliate source said.
New York’s hope of staying below the dreaded secondary not just through 2024-25, but next season and possibly beyond, now becomes more realistic. The Knicks, who traded five first-round picks (including four unprotected picks) for Mikal Bridges earlier this offseason, already believed their championship window was open. Brunson’s extension lifts the glass even further, especially through 2026.
Before that, Bridges’ contract was cheap, earning $23.3 million this season and $24.9 million thereafter. Brunson will earn $34.9 million in the first year of the contract, and the Knicks will invest $153.2 million in nine players: Brunson, Bridges, Hart, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson , Donte DiVincenzo, Miles McBride, Pacom Dadit and Tyler Kolek. The second apron is expected to cost approximately US$207.8 million in the current quarter.
Keeping payroll below $207.8 million will create valuable resources for the Knicks. If they exceed that threshold, they say goodbye to the mid-level exception, the ability to conduct most transactions and so on.
Brunson may have a chance to make back much of the money he gave up. as Competitor As detailed earlier this week, the extension would make him a free agent in 2028, 10 years after entering the NBA. He will be eligible for the largest contract a player can get, which is expected to be worth $417 million over five years. If Brunson signs this deal, the salary surge in 2028-29 and 2029-30 will close the gap.
But 2028 is four years away. No one knows what will happen between now and then.
Players get injured. They went backwards. Historically, smaller point guards like Brunson are more prone to this misfortune. For whatever reason, the Knicks could slip off by then and choose to go in a different direction. They could hire new management or coaching. This is the NBA, and things can change drastically overnight, let alone four years.
There’s no guarantee Brunson will get the money back. Of course, he didn’t do this to get rich. He does this to give his team the best chance to win.
(Jalen Brunson photo above: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
