Jalen Brunson was probably already the most popular professional athlete in New York , but his decision to sign a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension with the Knicks on Friday clinched it. The payday, while significant, represents only around 58% of what he could have earned by waiting until next offseason to re-sign on a projected five-year, $269.
1 million max deal as an unrestricted free agent. The Knicks will be able to put those savings to good use in constructing what the rest of what us hope will be their first championship roster since 1973. Still, this signing comes with quite a few questions.
Why would Brunson leave so much money on the table? How will his decision to take less impact other stars around the league? What does this newfound flexibility mean for the Knicks -- do they suddenly just have another $113 million to utilize over the next few years? Well, the answers here are complicated and messy. We won't fully understand the implications of Brunson's decision for years to come. But let's walk through every element of this deal and try to figure out what it means for Brunson, the Knicks and the NBA as a whole moving forward.
How much did Brunson really leave on the table? If you assume that Brunson would have otherwise signed a five-year max contract with the Knicks next summer, the gap between that deal and the one he signed Friday was roughly $113.6 million. However, that is a significant oversimplification of the situation.
Let's look at this cont.