Knicks Star Jalen Brunson Secures Four-Year, $156.5 Million Contract Extension
Jalen Brunson signs a four-year, $156.5 million extension with the Knicks, bypassing a potential max deal. The contract, beginning in 2025-26, includes a player option after the third season.
Quick Read Points:
- Jalen Brunson signs a four-year, $156.5 million extension with the New York Knicks.
- The contract, starting in 2025-26, includes a player option after the third season.
- Brunson forgoes a potential five-year max contract worth around $270 million.
- The extension helps the Knicks maintain financial flexibility under the salary cap.
- Brunson is eligible for a new max extension in 2028, potentially recouping up to $113 million.
Bollywood Fever: Jalen Brunson, a standout player for the New York Knicks, has agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $156.5 million. This new deal, set to start in the 2025-26 season, includes a player option after the third year, when Brunson will be 31, according to ESPN.
The 27-year-old point guard, who earned his first All-Star selection last season, originally signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the Knicks in 2022. By extending his contract now, Brunson forgoes the chance to sign a five-year max contract potentially worth around $270 million as a free agent next season.
Brunson’s decision to extend with the Knicks reflects his strong connections and status within the team, as well as his popularity among fans. His father, Rick Brunson, serves as an assistant coach under Tom Thibodeau, and Knicks president Leon Rose is a longtime family friend. Additionally, Brunson shares the court with three former Villanova teammates—Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart—who are also part of the Knicks’ rotation.
The extension is also strategically beneficial for the Knicks, as it helps them remain below the salary cap’s ‘second apron’ in 2025-26, allowing greater financial flexibility to support other core players. Although Brunson is sacrificing up to $113 million by not waiting for the max deal, he will be eligible for a new max extension in 2028, his 10th year in the NBA, which could help recoup the lost amount.
Brunson is coming off a stellar season, achieving career-highs in scoring (28.7 points per game), assists (6.7 per game), and three-pointers made (211), with a 40.1 percent shooting rate from beyond the arc. In addition to his All-Star nod, he was named to the All-NBA second team and finished fifth in the MVP voting for the 2023-24 season.
In his six-year NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks and the Knicks, Brunson has averaged 16.9 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game, with a shooting percentage of 48.9 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range.
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