NBA teams have handed out plenty of big contracts this summer. Jayson Tatum signed a historic $314 million extension with the Boston Celtics, the largest total-value contract the NBA has ever seen. The 2021 No. 1 pick, Cade Cunningham, could make upwards of a quarter-billion dollars. Ditto for Scottie Barnes, the fourth pick from that draft.
Despite those hefty price tags, none of them are going to make as much in a single season as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Oklahoma City Thunder star was the runner-up in MVP voting this past season and earned All-NBA First Team status for a second consecutive year. That makes him eligible for a supermax extension next offseason, a deal the Thunder will surely offer.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted, Gilgeous-Alexander can sign a four-year extension worth $294,268,128.
This extension would kick in after Gilgeous-Alexander’s current contract ends in the summer of 2027. In most situations, NBA contracts are backloaded, meaning the final year is the most lucrative. SGA would earn $81,449,214 during the 2030-31 season. To repeat. That’s $81.449 million in salary for a single season of play.
That’s essentially $1 million per game the Thunder play, whether he suits up or not. And it’ll likely be north of that since Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t played a full 82 games since his rookie year.
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As a reminder, Michael Jordan earned just shy of $94 million throughout his entire 15-year NBA career. Granted, he’s made billions thanks to endorsements and investments. And while SGA starred in that very memorable (some might say grating) “What a Pro Wants” commercial, he’s still well behind MJ in that regard.
There’s another interesting wrinkle to this extension, too. Gilgeous-Alexander played his rookie season for the Los Angeles Clippers. Then, in the 2019 offseason, the Clippers traded him, Danilo Gallinari, and five draft picks to the Thunder for Paul George.
One of this offseason’s big moves saw George signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. He claimed the Clippers initially gave him a lowball offer, which led to him looking elsewhere. The Sixers gave him four years and $212 million.
Granted, the Clippers needed to acquire George to get Kawhi Leonard on the roster. Still, it’s wild that they lost an MVP candidate and the guy they traded that candidate for in the span of five years—with only one Western Conference Finals appearance to show for it.