There was good reason for celebration in Gotham on Friday night, as the New York Knicks and Jalen Brunson agreed to a contract extension that ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski called “largely unprecedented.” The new deal, which will pay the All-NBA guard $156.5 million over the next four years, represents a significant pay cut for Brunson… $37.1 million over the next three years to be exact, and $113 million less guaranteed than if he chose to wait a year and sign an extension next summer.
In the end, Jalen Brunson is still a multi-millionaire and even more of a New York City legend than he already way, and he'll be able to make up a lot of the money he left on the table this week in the future. But for the time being, the deal saves the Knicks over $100 million and keeps New York out of the second-apron of the salary cap. And while putting a billionaire — New York Knicks owner James Dolan — in a more desirable financial position is certainly admirable, the truth of the matter is, this concession was made in order to keep this Knicks core together with hopes that they will bring a championship to New York City. And according to Woj, it was Brunson's admiration of numerous all-time greats who made similar financial concessions that motivated him to do the same.
“Brunson's study of championship organizations and franchise stars — Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs, the Tom Brady New England Patriots and the Derek Jeter New York Yankees — gave him a blueprint for MVP-level players who structured contracts to give their teams the best chances at sustainable title runs.”
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes signed a ten-year, $450 million deal in 2020 — a deal that, while massive, will in time look great compared to what other quarterbacks around the league are making. Each of the last two seasons, the Chiefs have restructured Mahomes' deal, converting salary into signing bonuses which have allowed the Chiefs to make key roster additions, like Drue Tranquill and Mike Edwards in 2023. The $21.6 million the Chiefs freed up this past offseason allowed the team to re-sign defensive tackle Chris Jones as Kansas City loads up for a three-peat attempt. But Mahomes was only taking a page out of Tom Brady's playbook.
According to Jared Dubin of CBS Sports, Tom Brady ranked as the 13th-highest paid quarterback in the NFL throughout his Patriots tenure, saving New England an average of $9 million per year from 2011 t0 2018. During a 2019 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Brady explained that while part of the reason he had chosen to take less money is because of the financial status of his now ex-wife Gisele Bundchen, his primary motivation was to keep a competitive advantage over the rest of the NFL.
“I think the thing I've always felt for me in my life, winning has been a priority. And my wife makes a lot of money. I'm a little smarter than you think. Actually, it's a salary cap. You can only spend so much and the more that one guy gets is less for others. And for a competitive advantage standpoint, I like to get a lot of good players around me.”
One thing is for sure: the New York Knicks have managed to put a lot of good players around Jalen Brunson, and it was Brunson's unselfishness that will keep what looks to be a championship-caliber core together for more than just a season or two.
Where do the Knicks rank among NBA Title contenders?
Given what the New York Knicks accomplished last year — winning 50+ games for only the second time this century and advancing to the 2nd round of the Playoffs for the second consecutive year — and what they've managed to do in the offseason — re-signing OG Anunoby to a five-year, $215 million deal this summer, and trading for Brunson's former Villanova teammate, Mikal Bridges — it's within reason to make a case that New York could be the Eastern Conference team in best position to challenge the Boston Celtics next season. The Philadelphia 76ers would surely have something to say about that, as would the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers, but as things stand today, I'd give the edge to New York.
Where things get interesting for the Knicks is if Jalen Brunson's generosity sets off a chain reaction among his Knicks teammates. Following the announcement of Brunson's discounted extension, Evan Sidery of Forbes Sports speculated that Bridges, who has two years and $48 million left on his contract, could be the next Knick to took a pay cut in order to wedge New York's championship window open even more.
“With Jalen Brunson’s record-setting bargain extension complete, the strong expectation is Mikal Bridges will also take a discount on his upcoming new long-term deal with the Knicks,” Sidery tweeted. “The Villanova duo will be setting up New York to be championship contenders for years to come.”
People scoffed at the idea of the Nova Knicks in the early stages of the team being built, but now it's this pre-existing brotherhood that could allow the Knicks to win an NBA Title in “largely unprecedented” fashion.
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