Fresh off a Finals run, the generational superstar considers a massive hometown discount to help the Spurs build a dynasty around him. Is a pay cut coming?
Victor Wembanyama cemented himself as the best player in the league last season, as he led the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA Finals in just his third season. Of course, the Spurs lost to the New York Knicks, but it's safe to say that the NBA is his league now.
This summer, he is to get paid like it.
With only one year left on his four-year rookie contract, the Spurs could extend him this summer. The most they can offer is five years, $252 million, with added incentives possibly taking the deal past the $300 million mark. Since no other team is allowed to offer him anything close to that, negotiations were expected to be pretty straightforward.
And now, reportedly, they are done.
Wembanyama has signed a five-year, $252 million maximum rookie-scale contract extension, with a player option in the fifth season, sources told ESPN late Friday.
If Wembanyama even hinted that he wanted a maximum deal, the Spurs would very quickly present him with one. He's only 22 years old, already a lock for MVP conversations, and is simply a winning player. Unlike some of his peers who think they deserve a massive contract, Wemby has proven that he does.
But locking up over a third of the salary cap in a single player can handcuff teams, even if the superstar they break the bank for is worth it. Signing Wembanyama to a $252 million deal might impact future moves the Spurs could make, such as extending Stephon Castle or Dylan Harper.
So, in the name of winning, it was thought Wembanyama might take a discount.
"Spurs family, I’m here to stay," he posted. "Whatever it takes."
Does that mean he was willing to take a discount? Maybe ... but that idea is gone now - though Wembanyama agreed to the 25-percent maximum instead of the 30-percent supermax, so there is some relief here.
There has been word this morning in Las Vegas that Victor Wembanyama is considering signing less than his five-year, $252 million maximum rookie scale extension to provide San Antonio greater financial flexibility.
Between endorsement deals with Nike, Gatorade, Louis Vuitton, and H-E-B, Wembanyama doesn't really need the money the Spurs would offer. It would signal to him that he's the key piece of their success moving forward, but what if he already knows that?
Players have taken discounts to allow their team to remain competitive before. Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili are all relevant examples, but they took their pay cut later in their careers, after they already made hundreds of millions of dollars. Leaving that much money on the table as a third-year player is unheard of.
So it seems Wemby and the Spurs passed on that idea ... instead doing the max for a young superstar.
