Very few players have experienced the kind of season that Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had in 2024–25, leading the Thunder to the NBA title and winning the league and NBA Finals MVP awards in the process.
SGA became eligible for a supermax contract extension last season, after making All-NBA teams in two of the previous three seasons. He hit his service time minimum this year, and became eligible for either four- or five-year supermax extensions with Oklahoma City this offseason. ESPN's Shams Charania reports that he has opted for the four-year version, which is worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars and makes SGA the highest-paid player in NBA history by annual salary.
Gilgeous-Alexander's new deal is worth $285 million, or north of $71 million per year.
BREAKING: NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has agreed to a four-year, $285 million super maximum contract extension with the championship Oklahoma City Thunder through 2030-31, sources tell ESPN. This is now the richest annual salary for a player in league history. pic.twitter.com/eptbVjUo6j
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025
The extension will kick in for the 2027–28 season, per ESPN's Bobby Marks, and will escalate from over $63.5 million in the first year to over $78.7 million in its final season, 2030–31. SGA will play out the remaining two years on his current deal, which is worth $79.1 million.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander breakdown
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 1, 2025
Including his current and new extension, $364M in salary over the next 6 years. pic.twitter.com/OCwBu2aOYK
The full value of the contract is set to push Gilgeous-Alexander's career earnings over $400 million. He will be a few weeks shy of 33 years old when that contract is set to expire, and could still lock in another massive deal assuming his game ages well, which explains his decision to sign the four-year supermax, and not the five-year version worth an estimated $380 million that he could have inked next year.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Agree to Record-Smashing Supermax Contract Extension.
