When Jalen Brunson first joined the New York Knicks, he was seen as one of the greatest bargains in the NBA. He had signed a four-year, $104 million deal, leaving the Dallas Mavericks and becoming a bona fide star at Madison Square Garden.
Now, it looks like he’s signed another bargain deal. He just agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension with the New York Knicks. (Side note, how wild are NBA contracts nowadays that less than $40 million a year for an All-Star is seen as a steal?)
Yet this contract comes with an interesting wrinkle. Namely, several reports noted that Brunson gave up about $113 million with this contract. If he had waited until next season, he could have been eligible for a five-year deal worth up to $269 million.
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While that’s a flashy headline, it’s not exactly realistic.
Brunson is still on his existing contract for the upcoming season. He’ll make about $26 million, no matter what. So, we need to jump to 2025-26 for the beginning of this new deal.
Under current league rules, Brunson can sign for a 40% raise on his 2024-25 salary, with subsequent 8% increases each year. If he had waited until next season, he would have served seven years in the league and could have signed for 30% of the salary cap plus the 8% annual raises.
That means that by the end of the 2027-28 season, Brunson would have made about $37.1 million more if he waited one more year to sign his extension. It’s true—that is more money than what he agreed to right now. But that’s not the whole story.
By signing this offseason, Brunson is setting himself up to opt out after the 2027-28 season. At that point, he’ll have played ten years in the NBA and can sign for 35% of the salary cap, which will again grow with annual raises.
Assuming the NBA salary cap continues to increase at about 10% each year, Brunson could sign a five-year supermax in 2028 when he’s 32 years old. That deal would pay him $417.85 million, including a final year worth north of $95 million.
Brunson is on track to earn a ton in the future while giving the Knicks more financial flexibility over the next few years. There’s also one other element to all this: Brunson is taking guaranteed money right now.
Regardless of how the rest of his career plays out, he’s going to make $156.5 million from this deal. To this point in his career, he’s earned about $60 million. When this contract is done, he’ll be approaching a quarter of a billion dollars in career earnings. That’s life-changing money.
While waiting could have earned him more, it also comes with more risk. What if he gets hurt? What if he doesn’t play as well? Those scenarios could impact his next contract, so he’s choosing to make a healthy salary now, with the potential for a lot more down the road.
When there’s a sure thing in the NBA, sometimes the wisest move is to take it. Brunson is doing just that—and it’s hard to find fault in the decision.