Ranking: The largest contracts in NBA history
The NBA has seen incredible growth over the past decade. The salary cap has nearly doubled since the year before the 2016 salary cap spike, leading to substantial pay raises for players across the board. Seven years ago, Mike Conley Jr. signed the largest contract in NBA history with a five-year, $153 million deal. Today’s largest contract in the league is worth double that.
Here is a list of the largest deals in NBA history that exceed $200 million.
1. Jaylen Brown (Boston)
Value: $303,734,893
Years: Five (2024-2029)
Jaylen Brown currently holds the belt for the largest contract in NBA history after agreeing to terms on a supermax extension with the Celtics. It was reported with a $304 million figure, but that’s if the cap rises by the 10 percent maximum. Right now the NBA is projecting next year’s cap to increase by 5 percent, which would put his deal in the $290 million range. His contract will be eclipsed next summer when teammate Jayson Tatum presumably signs his supermax extension, projected to exceed $300 million.
2. Nikola Jokic (Denver)
Value: $276,122,630
Years: Five (2023-2028)
Nikola Jokic held by far the largest contract in the 2022-23 season when his five-year, $276 million supermax extension kicked in. He qualified for it in 2021 but had to wait a year to sign it to accrue the required years of service. The contract immediately paid dividends when Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to their first championship last month.
3. Bradley Beal (Washington)
Value: $251,019,650
Years: Five (2022-2027)
After having one of his strongest regular seasons, Bradley Beal hoped to qualify for the supermax in 2019. When he didn’t earn All-NBA honors, he was considered a candidate to leave the Wizards in 2020 when set to hit free agency. He instead signed a short-term maximum extension that would run through his tenth season. This allowed him to become a free agent and maximize his earnings with a five-year deal worth 35 percent of the salary cap. His five-year, $251 million deal also came with a no-trade clause and a player option, severely limiting his trade market this summer.
4. Devin Booker (Phoenix)
Value: $234,572,800
Years: Four (2024-2028)
Devin Booker qualified for a supermax extension after being named to the All-NBA 1st Team in the 2021-22 season. He followed it up with an even stronger season scoring and efficiency-wise and several all-time great scoring performances in the playoffs. His extension is set to kick in the 2024-25 season when the Suns will pay him, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal at least $50 million each.
4. Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota)
Value: $234,572,800
Years: Four (2024-2028)
Karl–Anthony Towns qualified for the same supermax extension as Devin Booker by making the All-NBA 3rd Team in 2021-22. Both players hold the record for largest four-year contract in NBA history. He will be looking to bounce back from an injury-riddled down year that prevented the Minnesota Timberwolves from playing their new group together enough. Towns could become a trade candidate with an impending luxury tax crunch looming. The Wolves will be hard-pressed to go into the tax to pay all of Towns, Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and presumably Jaden McDaniels if they don’t have a strong playoff run.
6. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee)
Value: $228,200,420
Years: Five (2021-2026)
Giannis Antetokounmpo qualified for the supermax in 2019 by winning MVP but had to wait until 2020 to sign it to accrue the minimum required seven years of service. After the Heat eliminated the Bucks early in the 2020 NBA playoffs, there was a brief window of speculation of Antetokounmpo potentially leaving Milwaukee in 2021 free agency. Those rumors died quickly when he signed his supermax that summer, giving him the largest contract in history at the time. Antentokounmpo is currently extension-eligible, but he could instead become a free agent as soon as 2025 if he declines his player option.
7. Stephen Curry (Golden State)
Value: $215,353,664
Years: Four (2022-2026)
Stephen Curry became the first player in NBA history to land two $200 million contracts after signing this extension in 2021. The Warriors rewarded him with this contract after statistically having his strongest regular season and carrying a short-handed team to the play-in tournament. Many were counting out the Warriors after missing the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, but the organization felt they were far from done as long as they had Curry. They went on to win the 2022 NBA championship and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon despite recently turning 35.
8. Luka Doncic (Dallas)
Value: $215,159,700
Years: Five (2022-2027)
Luka Doncic already having the eighth-largest contract in NBA history is an indicator of how much the salary cap has risen in recent years. He qualified for the 30 percent maximum salary in 2021 after earning All-NBA honors in his second and third seasons. He could be on track to have the highest career earnings by the time he retires if he signs a supermax and gets a significant extension above that in his 30s. The Dallas Mavericks are already feeling the pressure from their franchise player to put a strong roster around him with his player option looming in 2026.
8. Trae Young (Atlanta)
Value: $215,159,700
Years: Five (2022-2027)
After being named in 3rd Team All-NBA, Trae Young qualified for the same 30 percent maximum salary as Luka Doncic in 2021. The Atlanta Hawks already experienced great success with Young after he led them to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, making this deal a no-brainer for them. His performances in the playoffs since then have left a lot of doubts over the contract he signed, but he will look to bounce back as the offensive force he’s been known as.
8. Zach LaVine (Chicago)
Value: $215,159,700
Years: Five (2022-2027)
Zach LaVine had one of the more meteoric improvements recently upon being traded to the Chicago Bulls. He was still eligible to qualify for the supermax by 2020-21 but couldn’t get there despite being named an All-Star for the first time. Because his maximum extension amount was too low, he became a free agent in 2022 to re-sign with the Bulls on a maximum contract.
11. Joel Embiid (Philadelphia)
Value: $213,280,928
Years: Four (2022-2027)
Joel Embiid not only signed one of the largest contracts in history but he also has the largest contract negotiated by a player representing himself. He chose not to hire an agent after his last agent Leon Rose joined the New York Knicks, so he negotiated his supermax extension by himself with a player option in Year 4.
12. Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City)
Value: $206,794,070
Years: Five (2018-2023)
Russell Westbrook was the third player to sign a supermax extension and the first to sign a five-year supermax deal. He became eligible after winning MVP in 2017 and signed it around the deadline before the start of the regular season. He was considered a candidate to leave the Thunder in 2018 free agency when he could’ve declined his player option, but that scenario disappeared with this agreement.
13. Anthony Edwards (Minnesota)
Value: $205,900,000
Years: Five (2018-2023)
Anthony Edwards received a maximum contract expected to be no lower than $206 million based on next year’s salary cap projection. There is a good chance the value increases to around $250 million if he earns All-NBA honors next season.
13. LaMelo Ball (Charlotte)
Value: $205,900,000
Years: Five (2024-2029)
LaMelo Ball received the same maximum extension as Anthony Edwards and got the same salary escalators as well. There was an outside chance the Hornets selected Scoot Henderson in the draft, which would’ve made Ball’s future in Charlotte shaky going forward. They instead made Ball their franchise player with this commitment and selected Brandon Miller as his partner.
13. Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana)
Team: Indiana Pacers
Value: $205,900,000
Years: Five (2024-2029)
Tyrese Haliburton received the same maximum rookie-scale extension and escalators as Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball this summer. He’s their franchise player going forward and will have a chance to have the longest All-Star career as a Pacer since Reggie Miller.
16. Rudy Gobert (Utah)
Value: $205,000,002
Years: Five (2021-2026)
Rudy Gobert qualified for the supermax in 2019 after winning multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards but had to wait until 2020 to officially sign it. His five-year, $205 million deal was worth more than 30 percent of the cap but less than 35 percent, making it the first and only of its kind. The Timberwolves currently hold three players with $200 million contracts in Gobert, Karl–Anthony Towns, and Anthony Edwards.
17. Stephen Curry (Golden State)
Value: $201,158,790
Years: Five (2017-2022)
Stephen Curry became the first player to sign a contract worth $200 million and the first to sign a designated maximum contract. He qualified upon winning MVP in 2016 while earning an average of $11 million annually. Despite earning between $2.7 million to $12.1 million in his first eight seasons, he’s on track to have the most career earnings in history by the time he retires.
