The 25-year-old forward is entering the third season of a five-year, $90 million contract extension that he signed in 2024.
The Chicago Bulls have a new front office with Bryson Graham and co. in town, but one of the largest stains on the prior administration still remains on the franchise's books.
On June 29, 2024, former Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas agreed to sign forward Patrick Williams to a five-year, $90 million contract extension. The deal looked like a slight overpay at the time, but it was largely based on a projection of how the then-22-year-old would continue to improve.
Instead, it went horribly wrong. Over the prior two seasons, Williams had averaged 10.1 points per game and shot an efficient 40.9% on three-pointers. The development never came, and Williams eventually regressed. The No. 4 overall pick in 2020 played himself out of the Bulls' rotation, making just 37.2% of his shots last season.
By all accounts, the time for Williams and the Bulls to part ways has been long overdue, but Chicago can't get rid of him. The organization still owes Williams $54 million over the next three seasons — an astonishing number for someone who isn't projected to crack Tiago Splitter's rotation this year.
A new study found that Williams is the second-most overpaid player in the NBA. Casino Guru USA's Anna Ryan weighed each player's 2026-27 cap hits against the Win Shares they contributed last season, then scaled each player to their own position. The metric ranked Williams behind only Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam, who makes $48.9 million this season and was responsible for 2.6 Win Shares amid a gap year for his team.
Apr 1, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (44) shoots against Indiana Pacers forward Jalen Slawson (18) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Williams' -0.1 Win Shares were the lowest among any of the top five most overpaid NBA players. According to Basketball-Reference, Williams also ranked 558th out of 582 NBA players in terms of total win shares.
There are some caveats to the "overpaid" metric. The other players among the five most overpaid athletes — Siakam, Warriors forward Draymond Green, Bucks center Myles Turner and Kings guard Malik Monk — are all productive players in the NBA; their teams just didn't win many games last season. Williams is the only one of the bunch who isn't a starter or sixth man.
Additionally, the metric only included players who appeared in at least 60% of games last season (49 of 82 games). This rules out highly paid players who missed significant time due to injury, like former Bulls guard Zach LaVine ($50.0 million, 1.3 Win Shares in 39 games), Kings forward Domantas Sabonis ($48.6 million, 1.1 Win Shares in 19 games) and Wizards center Anthony Davis ($58.5 million, 1.3 Win Shares in 20 games).
On the positive side for the Bulls, Chicago also has one of the best value contracts in the league, according to the study. Guard Tre Jones contributed a team-best 5.7 Win Shares last season and is making just $8 million annually. The study ranks him the third-most underpaid player in the NBA, behind only Hornets guard Kon Knueppel and Rockets guard Amen Thompson. Both Knueppel and Thompson are currently on their rookie contracts, though Thompson agreed to a five-year, $208 million extension with Houston earlier this month.
