Jalen Brunson is staying with the Knicks on a massive discount after the All-Star guard agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million extension on Friday. By reupping and signing a new contract in New York now, instead of next offseason, the All-NBA Second Team selection is leaving more than $100 million in guaranteed money on the table. Brunson would have been eligible for a five-year, $269 million extension next summer.
On its face, that's a $113 million sacrifice that will be a massive boon for the Knicks' ability to keep this team -- which is about to become extremely expensive in the coming years -- together for the long term. The Knicks' OG Anunoby, Julius Randle and Mikal Bridges will join Brunson in each making more than $23 million next season.
In reality, it's really only $37 million over the next three years that Brunson is leaving on the table as he signing this extension with a player option on the fourth year to become a free agent in the summer of 2028. That will put him at the 10-year mark of his career making him eligible to sign a whopping five-year, $417 million extension.
CBS Sports salary cap expert Sam Quinn breaks down all of the nerd numbers here.
Still, $37 million isn't chump change, and besides that, a lot can happen between now and 2028. Remember when Isaiah Thomas was was believed to be on track for a $200 million contract only to suffer an injury that derailed his entire career before he could actually sign? He has made less than $15 million since.
Brunson takes a similar possibility off the table by securing his money now while also saving the Knicks a ton of short-term money and lining up his ultimate payday on the shortest timeline possible. This is a win every way you look at it, and Brunson just became a sainted figure in New York.
.@nyknicks Sign Jalen Brunson to Contract Extension pic.twitter.com/B1tJIe8BUk
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) July 12, 2024
