Knicks star Jalen Brunson has agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension with the team, but he could miss out on the max deal next season as a free agent.
The 27-year-old point guard’s new deal begins in 2025-26, according to ESPNand includes a player option after the third season, when Brunson is 31.
Brunson, who was named an All-Star for the first time in his career last season, signed a four-year, $104 million contract with New York in 2022.
He could have signed a five-year contract worth approximately $270 million with the team, or another franchise, if he had waited until he was eligible for a maximum five-year contract, expected to be worth $269 million.
Brunson’s contract extension, however, comes as no surprise given his ties and status with the team, and his popularity among Knicks fans.
Jalen Brunson has agreed to new terms with the Knicks that will see him play in New York through 2029-30
The 27-year-old point guard’s decision to extend his current contract comes as no surprise to fans
Brunson’s father, Rick, is an assistant on Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff, while Knicks president Leon Rose is a close family friend.
Brunson also has three of his college friends — Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVicenzo and Josh Hart — from Villanova, where they won an NCAA championship together, in the Knicks’ rotation.
Brunson’s decision to extend his stay at Madison Square Garden will keep the Knicks under the salary cap in 2025-26, giving them more flexibility to pay the rest of their core players.
However, Brunson is eligible to sign a new max extension in 2028, his 10th year of service, which would recoup most of the $113 million he is now giving up.
Brunson earned his first All Star and All-NBA second team nominations last season in NY
Hart, another guard for the Knicks, appeared to comment on the news of Brunson’s contract extension when he posted the following message on X: “Build him a statue.”
Brunson is coming off the best season of his six-year NBA career, with career highs in scoring (28.7 points per game), assists (6.7 per game) and 3-pointers made (211). He shot 40.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Additionally, in addition to his first All-Star nomination, Brunson was also nominated to the All-NBA second team and finished fifth in the 2023-2024 NBA Most Valuable Player voting.
In six seasons with the Dallas Mavericks (2018-22) and the Knicks, Brunson averaged 16.9 points, 4.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9 percent of his shots, including 39.1 percent from 3-point range.