Knicks star Jalen Brunson signs record contract extension, sacrificing over $100 million

Any NBA fan over the age of 30 will tell you that Madison Square Garden — home of the New York Knickerbockers — is a magical place.

The history, glitz and prestige of the New York basketball scene is the stuff of myth, and MSG is the physical manifestation of all that. To the chagrin of many of those die hard, impassioned Knicks fans, the team hasn’t been consistently good since Bill Clinton was the president.

That all changed when Jalen Brunson left the Dallas Mavericks after the 2021-22 season to sign with the Knicks as a free agent.

The 27-year-old Brunson (he turns 28 in August) has been the focal point of some very successful Knicks teams over the past two seasons, and given how beloved he is in New York, many assumed that he would sign a maximum extension the instant he could with the team.

(Brunson also has a literal familial connection with the Knicks, as his father is an assistant coach on the team who had also played for the Knicks once upon a time.)

Well, turns out that people were half-right.

Brunson did sign an extension… but it was for nowhere near the maximum.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the “unprecedented” news on Friday:

In a largely unprecedented financial concession to give roster flexibility to a contender, New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson has agreed on a four-year, $156.5 million extension, his agent Sam Rose of CAA tells ESPN — $113M less guaranteed than he’s eligible to receive in one… pic.twitter.com/DDJvz7TUlr

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 12, 2024

“In a largely unprecedented financial concession to give roster flexibility to a contender, New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson has agreed on a four-year, $156.5 million extension, his agent Sam Rose of CAA tells ESPN — $113M less guaranteed than he’s eligible to receive in one year,” Wojnarowski posted.

The deal — which will cost Brunson $37.1M over the next three years — comes with a fourth-year player option, Rose said, and that would set up Brunson to recoup the rest of the $113M on a four-year, $323M extension in 2028 or a new five year, $418M deal in 2029.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 12, 2024

In a follow-up, Wojnarowski elaborated on the details.

“The repercussions of Brunson choosing the four-year, $156.5M max deal over the five-year, $269M deal in 2025 are massive for the Knicks’ ability to keep this team together – and keep making roster moves to close the gap on a championship,” ESPN’s NBA insider posted.

He added: “The deal — which will cost Brunson $37.1M over the next three years — comes with a fourth-year player option, Rose said, and that would set up Brunson to recoup the rest of the $113M on a four-year, $323M extension in 2028 or a new five year, $418M deal in 2029.”

While giving up $100 million in the present for a $418 million deal in 2029 certainly sounds worth it, this is still a calculated risk for Brunson.

First, in 2029, Brunson will be turning 33 — the age at which many basketball players start to decline. Unless he has a future contract in writing (which likely violates the NBA by-laws), there’s no reason the Knicks couldn’t renege on that pay day should Brunson start to show serious signs of decline.

Second, there’s always the injury factor. As macabre as it may be to consider, every professional athlete is a bad Achilles rupture away from early retirement.

And to highlight how truly “unprecedented” this is, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James got glowing pieces written by establishment media outlets like the Los Angeles Times for taking a roughly million pay cut.

Brunson’s pay cut is about $110 million more than James.