Extension No. 1 — done.
The Knicks and franchise point guard Jalen Brunson agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension on Friday — the day he became eligible to ink a new deal — keeping the star scorer and floor general in New York at least through the 2027-28 NBA season.
Brunson would have been eligible for a five-year, $269 million deal at the end of the 2024-25 season, but he left $113 million on the table to re-sign immediately, providing future salary cap flexibility — and All-NBA production at the point guard spot — while the Knicks attempt to compete for a title in the coming years.
Brunson will play the third year of his current contract, worth $24.96 million, then decline the fourth year to receive a 40 percent raise for the 2025-26 season. His new extension pays $34.9 million in Year 1, $37.7 million in Year 2 and $40.5 million in Year 3.
Brunson then has a $43.3 million fourth-year player option on his contract, which he can decline to sign a new extension and recover the money he left on the table.
He will then have 10 years of NBA service under his belt, allowing the star guard to re-sign in New York for a deal worth 35 percent of the cap after the league’s new broadcast television right’s deal inflates the salary cap: four years worth $323 million if he signs an extension in 2028, or a five-year, $418 million deal if he waits until the summer of 2029.
The extension comes on the heels of a career year for Brunson, who earned first-time All-Star and All-NBA honors while captaining the Knicks to the East’s No. 2 seed and a 50-win season for the first time since Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks in 2013. Brunson led a Knicks team ravaged by injury to the second round of the playoffs, where they ran out of gas in a Game 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The All-Star guard scored or assisted on a Knicks franchise-record 3,481 points last season and averaged a career-best 28.7 points per game. He became the first Knicks player to record 40 points, five rebounds and five assists in four straight playoff games.
Brunson also became the first player in NBA history to record at least 50 points, five assists, five rebounds, five steals and five made threes in a game in a Dec. 15 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
His deal is the second major contract hammered home at Madison Square Garden this offseason.
The Knicks also re-signed OG Anunoby to a five-year, $212.5 million contract. They then traded Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton, five first-round draft picks, a first-round pick swap, and a second-round pick to the Nets for Mikal Bridges and Keita Bates-Diop.
Bridges will become eligible to sign a two-year contract extension on Oct. 1, and three-time All-Star Julius Randle will become extension-eligible in the first week of August.
The decision to take less money now shows Brunson’s willingness to sacrifice to contend for a championship in New York City.
The salary cap projects to increase by a maximum of 10 percent over each of the next handful of seasons, with a spike projected from $141 million for the 2024-25 season to $155.1 million for the 2025-26 season and $170.6 million in the 2026-27 season.
If Randle were to opt into his $30.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season, the Knicks would have $184.1 million in player salaries with the roster as currently constructed. If Randle and the Knicks were to agree on the same 40 percent raise on this season’s salary for his upcoming extension — a four-year, $181.5 million deal — the Knicks would project as north of a $194 million payroll with the roster as currently constructed for the 2025-26 season.
The 2025 first and second aprons are projected at $195.9 million and $207.8 million, respectively. Had Brunson waited until next summer to sign a five-year, $269 million extension, the Knicks would have had little flexibility to avoid the second apron and keep this roster together.
Instead, Brunson followed the footsteps of championship contenders past: Even LeBron James took $2.6 million less from the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason in a two-year, $101 million deal that allows L.A. to avoid the second apron. Hall of Fame power forward Tim Duncan took $11 million less than his maximum in the summer of 2007 to help the San Antonio Spurs retain Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Kevin Durant also took $10 million less than his max from the Golden State Warriors to help the organization keep Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston in the 2017 offseason.
Brunson joins the list, and he not only sets himself up for a massive payday in four years, but he also sets the Knicks up to compete with the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, each of whom have their sights set on a title run this upcoming season.
