4:55pm: Brunson’s extension with the Knicks is now official, according to a team press release (Twitter link).
“Jalen signing his extension to remain with the Knicks for the long-term shows the dedication and passion he has for the organization, the fans and this city,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “Jalen has often called the Knicks his family and we are beyond proud to have him wear and represent our orange and blue for years to come. Jalen has embraced every challenge since he’s come to New York and has been committed since day one to the vision and plan we set forth for the future of this team.
“Since Jalen joined us two years ago, he has consistently led by example and continues to show a willingness to sacrifice for this organization, his teammates and everyone in the Knicks family.”
4:10pm: Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson has agreed to a four-year, $156.5MM contract extension, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link).
As Wojnarowski observes, the deal is a massive financial concession for a contender, since Brunson could have been eligible for a five-year, $269MM deal next offseason. By signing an extension now, Brunson is allowing the Knicks to maintain some spending power to retain a contending core — highlighted by Brunson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and more — for at least the next few seasons.
Because Brunson can’t receive more than a 40% raise on his 2024/25 salary of $24,960,001 in the first year of an extension, his new deal will start at $34,944,001 in ’25/26, replacing the player option on his current contract.
It’s an unprecedented move for the All-Star guard who finished fifth in MVP voting last season. The deal does cost Brunson $37.1MM over the next three years, but there’s a way for the Villanova product to recoup the value he’s sacrificing in the short term down the line. Brunson’s deal includes a fourth-year player option. He could sign a four-year, $323MM extension in 2028 or a new, five-year, $418MM deal in 2029.
The Knicks signaled their belief in this being a championship core when they traded multiple first-round picks to acquire Bridges earlier this summer. Bridges is only under contract for two more seasons at a modest AAV of $24.1MM over those two seasons. With Brunson taking this short-term paycut, the Knicks have more flexibility to re-up Bridges for the long term. Bridges is eligible for a four-year, $156MM deal next offseason — if he were to sign that deal, it would represent another below-market rate to help keep this Knicks team together.
This move by Brunson also allows New York to duck the second apron in the first year of the extension, thereby allowing them to dodge the restrictive penalties that would have followed.
According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, Brunson will receive a 50% advance on his salary at the start of each season of the extension (Twitter link).
A solid rotation player in Dallas during the first four years of his career, Brunson has become a star over the past two seasons with New York, averaging 26.5 points and 6.5 assists while shooting 48.4% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc during that time. Those two seasons have been among the most successful in recent Knicks history. The team’s .610 win percentage last season has only been topped once since 2000 (in 2012/13).
Now THIS is what taking a pay cut to help your team looks like.
*cough* LeBron *cough*
Why does LeBron have to take a pay cut. Russell is making 18.7mil. Nobody ask him to take a pay cut and the dude disappears when lakers need him the most vs Denver
Because LeBron made it a story about how he took a few million less so LAL could get someone good. LeBron is about LeBron.
That few million went to his kid. He’s still Lebron in the end.
The few million allotted the Lakers to stay under the 2nd apron and gave them the option of using multiple contracts to acquire 1 bigger contract. Example 2’ contracts at $15 mil each for 1 contract worth $30 mil. It also showed them to avoid losing picks and other penalties. That’s the real benefit of what he did not the small millions he shed them.
Let’s be fair. He didn’t “make it a big deal”. He agreed to do it and someone leaked it to the media and he addressed and Paul addressed it by answering questions. Very little remains a secret in todays media.
Exactly lol! He told the lakers if they could get an impact player and they needed him to take a cut to make it work he would. Pelinka then proceeded to not even be able to get those players even to have a phone call with him.
How in the world did a story about a player taking the max amount of money he could this off-season turn into he’s less selfish than lebron. Brunson literally took the max amount of money he could make if he signed this year.
This is the biggest off-season of people being fake angry just so they can spew how much they hate Lebron.
As if anyone on this app is taking a pay cut at their job for their for something like this. This would be like if your employer wanting you to take a 40% discount on your salary and they say we’re not going to bring anyone else in to help you do the job, we’re not going to make any improvements to the job conditions, and we’re not going to buy any tools or software to make the job less intensive we just want you to take 40% less so we don’t spend as much.
I would love to see how many of you that scream he should take less would take a 40% discount on your salary just because your employer doesn’t want to pay you that much anymore.
Not making 10M is a much smaller portion of LeBrons net worth so he can afford to take a bit of a discount more than any other player outside Steph with his extracurricular earnings.
He does not have to take a pay cut, but dont expect the Lakers to win anything.
Why should the highest paid leader of the team and face of the franchise take a pay cut instead of Russell?
1. He’s made more in his career
2. Him taking a pay cut creates more room than Russell
3. It sets a tone for the team
4. It’s his mess. He should be the one to clean it up or help clean it up. Moves were made to appease lebron.
Okay but for what feels like the 1000th time how does him taking a pay cut improve anything to do with the team at this point? He said he would take a pay cut if an impact player was going to be added that would help them win. If the lakers had worked a trade for bridges like the knicks did and lebron needed to take 15 million less he absolutely would have. Or if they could have even gotten Klay Thompson to take a phone call lebron would have taken less. But instead the GM that just stays living on those Kobe heart strings can’t do his job.
It amazes me how understand reported it has been the pelinka can’t even get on the phone with players this off-season. Lakers brass couldn’t sign any free agents or make any trades that require lebron to take less money. So in that situation how does lebron taking less money do anything other than let the billionaires pay less to the millionaires.
Just like I said earlier this would be like your employer saying we want you to take less money to do your job but we’re not going to bring anyone in to help you do the job, they aren’t going to make improvements to the conditions and they aren’t going to have you any tools or software that makes the job less intensive. How many of you in this comment section are taking that deal? I would be willing to bet a mortgage payment none of you would accept that.
The guy in his prime was probably worth 80-100 million dollars a year to play basketball and the salary cap prevented that. So now he needs to take a discount on top of the 60-70% discount he’s been forced to take his whole career. Such lunacy the way people twist this crap to make it look like he is selfish or doesn’t want to win.
And it isn’t fair to expect players to do that. People love to tell others what to do with their money and their lives.
With that being said, LeBron does like to present himself as Mr. Generous. You either put up or shut up, and he does neither (even if he does a lot of his talking through media “reports”).
Do you offer to take less at your job?
Look at the Knicks roster and look at the Lakers roster… congrats on being a moron
People talk about LeBron taking a pay cut but yet over the course of his career LeBron has had the highest salary in the league exactly once. He left money on the table when he signed with Miami because the Heat couldn’t fit all three of the Healtles into their cap space. When he left Miami he could’ve signed a full max then forced a sign and trade but instead he signed into Cleveland’s cap space. He also did the same when he went to the Lakers.
No other player besides Michael Jordan has had a bigger financial impact on the league than LeBron. He’s never been paid anywhere near what he brings in and until the last few seasons he’s always sacrificed long term dollars for short term flexibility.
Massive W for Nyk here , can’t be understated
The Ultimate team superstar player. I can only think of Dirk or Duncan that took a discount for the better of the team. WTG JB. Start the statue now outside MSG. No one will ever wear #11 again.
Durant gave a $10 million dollar discount when he resigned with the Warriors in 2017 so they could keep Iggy and Livingston.
Ok this Minnesota SL team is prob the most exciting team we’re gonna see all summer & that includes the Olympics/WNBA/BIG3/etc. 2 big dunks by Minott & Shannon already
What does this have to do with Brunson???
Deflect much??
Just cementing himself as one of the best Knicks ever he wants to win not just chasing $$….Get his bag on the next contract
If JB and company bring a championship to NY. Believe me, the next contract will be a blank check, and he can make whatever he wants.
For 113 million in a year yall better treat him like THEE greatest knick ever…
Really didn’t think he would give up potentially THAT much money to sign an extension now. Wow.
The $$ can easily be made up because they’re really not the issue. It’s about minimizing the second apron exposure for as long as possible. Once those kick in, the roster will be highly upgrade resistant, probably to a level that no sports league has ever seen.
He has easily become my favorite. In today’s world this is a rarity. Dad did well.
LOL Brusons dad was known for being a complete and total jerk when he played.
My favorite was Brunson’s dad getting lite up by some no-named guy from University of New Hampshire, then getting upset and going home.
He literally took his ball and went home after the G from NH killed him repeatedly off the dribble.
Among whom? He wasn’t known as that among those who matter. He was popular with the NYK players and coaches in his time there, so much so that they regularly engaged with his kid. In any event, just based on results, he obviously did a great job as a Dad.
The favorite “memory” of a mindless troll is never meaningful.
Well deserved…
That is nice of him, I would have waited that extra season and get the extra $100 million. I get wanting the security now though.
This deal looks good now but it sets him up perfectly. He basically gave up some money short term to have the opportunity to earn a lot more later. Sure if he’d waited until next off season he could’ve signed for 5/$269 million but that would’ve locked him down until he was almost 33. It would have been a lot harder to talk someone into offering a 4-5 year deal at $80+ million AAV at that age then it would be when he’s only 31. Now he’s just hope he stays healthy.
Good point. Still, Paul George was able to get himself a nice bag at age 34 with his injury history, and in an increasingly barren FA market I think Brunson would get paid either way. Then again, they are two very different players and a two-way sharpshooter who doesn’t absolutely need the ball in his hands might be expected to age more gracefully than someone like Brunson.
KAT
no
Yeah, in exchange for who exactly?
Ultimate TEAM player
For those that are talking about LBJ or “only” taking $156M, you don’t understand the sacrifice Brunson made.
This is a huge move by a winning player, period. The flexibility he just gave the Knicks over the next half decade is unprecedented.
Hate the Knicks all you want, but for the first time in a long time, I can love this team for more reasons than for just being a Knicks fan.
I wonder how many people praising Brunson rn would call him an idiot if he tears his acl in 3 years
Well, considering he could’ve signed the much bigger extension NEXT offseason—not 3 years into the future—I can only assume the answer would be zero.
He’d only be eligible to be called an idiot if he has a career altering injury in 2025-26 or 2026-27. If it happens this coming year, he’s a genius. If it happens after the extension he’ll sign in 2027, sill a genius.
So if someone takes a risk and it works they are smart but if it doesn’t they’re stupid. Hot take…
Brunson will regret this move. Leaving over 100 million on the table and hoping that you can sign a bigger extension is a recipe for disaster.
But hey, do what you want with your money…just dont expect sympathy when the Knicks dont pony up the money later.
He already made $104m and now another $156m guarantee? How is that a disaster?? He can sign another super duper extension when 4 yrs. Finally, he has all the lucrative endorsement opportunities playing in NY!
Clearly money is the big influencer here. Only says more about you than any player.
Talent is always going to get paid. It’s what the NBA is. Very few few can do this in the WORLD.
You don’t pay the clowns or the wannabees. You pay the solid team guys who want to be here. You sign the wrong guys you become the Bulls or Pigeons. Have players you don’t want or can’t trade. Team culture is a real thing. When your leaders have the character and commitment and talent that JB has. Then you just have to be thankful. He wins in NY. He will always be taken care of.
This is about team building. When your best players are showing who they are. Not just talking making noise. Then you have a chance to build a winner. Real family is about all of us doing it. All of us enjoying and benefiting from the fruits of our labor.
NBA is a team sport. You win as a team …..
Thank you Jalen. We are family. We all in this together. Let’s go get it player.
Sorry can’t help it. ……..
Best FA signings by any team. Who told ya
Jalen Brunson, Isiah Hartenstein
I get wanting to win in the confines of the salary cap… but this is just dumb on his part. He’s the best player on that team, should be compensated as such. Is he a 60M+ dude? No but 50M based on other players salaries yes, he should have a 4/200M.
Winning a Championship is not just about legacy. It’s about $$$$$$! He will make much more endorsements if he wins a title in NY. A great role model is Curry who makes much more in endorsmemts than his nba contract. Going into his final year without extension would have been so much distraction for the team. It’s the right thing to do and is NOT a huge sacrifice at all.
Crazy to think that when Brunson signed his current contract with the Knicks (4 years, 104 million), a lot of people (including me to be honest) thought it was an overpay. It turned out to be a huge underpay compared to what other guys make and given what Brunson brought to the Knicks since then.
I’m a celtics fan but I hope this helps the Knicks win a championship. Too many guys getting max money and they are not max players. Anyone getting a max contract should be able to carry a team
I haven’t loved a team this much since the 1996-2004 Yankees.
I realize we paid thru the nose for Bridges, but the sign and trade with Shake Milton to match salary was a brilliant move to avoid apron ramifications. Signing OG cost us a dime but in the future, we have a max contract on the books MEANING we can potentially use it to match salaries for a star player down the line. A few minor tweaks and additions between now and the playoffs and away we go (injuries notwithstanding of course!)
LET’S GO KNICKS!