Stephen Curry understood the assignment. Mission: Win The Championship Once More.
He also already has a lot of money. So, when the NBA legend took less than he could have in reportedly agreeing to a 2-year, $116 milion contract extension with the Golden State Warriors, he did so with the vision of helping the franchise put high-level players around him to make a run at a fifth title.
Because, high-level players cost high-level dollars.
But so do superstars. Yet, increasingly, they are choosing to take just a bit less so that their team can do just a bit more in building a capable roster around them. Curry’s numbers, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks are about $20 million less than the amount he could have milked out of them.
Candidly, I love this trend.
Probably, player agents don’t. And the NBA Players Association probably doesn’t either, but that’s okay. NBA players are more and more weighing the on-court cost of scraping out just a few million dollars more in a contract negotiation versus that money being placed constructively to maximize a team’s full potential. These players are making BIG dollars regardless, and they understand this one thing: Take less now and win, and the dollars will most certainly be bigger in the future. It’s the most basic cause and effect in sports.
Curry is the latest to do it.
And it’s not just players who have already made mega millions doing it. Victor Wembanyama took a 25 percent raise in his rookie-salary contract extension instead of the 30 percent max he was actually owed in order to help San Antonio keep the best young team in the NBA intact. He’s on record saying titles are the goal, and he understands you can’t do that if you are soaking up too huge a percentage of the salary cap.
New York’s Jalen Brunson did the same thing.
In the summer of 2024, he signed a 4-year, $156.5 milion contract with the Knicks, and that was considerably less than the 5-year, $269 milion contract he could have inked. There was consternation expressed by others, but the money saved allowed the Knicks to acquire key players like Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. The Knicks won the title last season, and Brunson is set to cash in on his upcoming extension.
Three players, in three different parts of their careers, doing the same thing.
And if the question is: Should players even have to bail out the organization by taking less than they are worth? I’d acknowledge that by saying it shouldn’t be that way, but I’d also say it’s not a bail out. The best-run franchises need fiscal frugality, too.
The NBA made creating and retaining a championship-caliber roster exponentially more difficult over the years with repeater taxes and with the creation of the second apron. Teams just don’t want to get into it. And because of that, difficult decisions have to be made. Just ask the Boston Celtics, who had to part with a number of key players from their 2024 championship team. And this offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded three key players — Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe — in order to save $300 million off the team’s payroll.
No team is immune. But also, the biggest stars are starting to help. And in taking less they put the onus squarely on team general managers and personnel decision-makers to make the right roster acquisitions or give way to someone who can.
This is becoming the era of the team friendly contract NBA star.
Time will tell if this becomes a significant trend, but there’s no doubt it’s starting to take real hold.