Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Could Score The First $80 Million Salary In NBA History
ByJoey Heldon May 12, 2025inArticles›Sports News
NBA fans are being treated to a very entertaining playoffs, and we’re getting an exceptionally rare matchup between the two frontrunners for the regular-season MVP award. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder are battling the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic in the Western Conference Semifinals. While Denver’s big man signed a long-term extension a few years ago , Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t yet inked a massive pay day.
That could all change this summer. NBA writer Marc Stein noted Gilgeous-Alexander’s contract situation puts him in unprecedented territory. He’s eligible to sign a supermax extension this offseason that would be worth nearly $300 million. It would also include a salary north of $80 million—something no NBA player has yet achieved.
Gilgeous-Alexander could sign that four-year deal this summer, or he could wait until the following offseason in 2026. If he choose to wait, the supermax deal would be for five years and well over $300 million, and it would almost certainly still include at least one $80 million season, if not a couple.
Sam Hodde/Getty Images
Thunder fans can rest easy knowing that Gilgeous-Alexander wants to remain with the team. He recently told reporters: “I love Oklahoma City and I can’t see a world where I’m not in Oklahoma City.”
The guard was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2018. He played one season in LA before the team traded him to the Thunder as part of the Paul George deal. Gilgeous-Alexander has already done something George never did during his time in OKC—he’s won a playoff series (two, in fact, between this year and 2024). SGA has a chance to get the Thunder to the Western Conference semifinals, something the team hasn’t done since Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were on the roster.
Coincidentally, Westbrook is now on the Nuggets. He’s still beloved by Thunder fans, though they’re rooting against him this series, of course.
And just to show how much NBA salaries have ballooned over the past handful of years, Westbrook’s career earnings are around $349 million. That’s about what SGA could get from a five-year supermax in 2026. It’s a grand time to be an NBA superstar.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Could Smash The Single-Season NBA Salary Record With His Next Contract
ByJoey Heldon July 22, 2024inArticles›Sports News
NBA teams have handed out plenty of big contracts this summer. Jayson Tatum signed a historic $314 million extension with the Boston Celtics, the largest total-value contract the NBA has ever seen. The 2021 No. 1 pick, Cade Cunningham , could make upwards of a quarter-billion dollars. Ditto for Scottie Barnes , the fourth pick from that draft.
Despite those hefty price tags, none of them are going to make as much in a single season as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander .
The Oklahoma City Thunder star was the runner-up in MVP voting this past season and earned All-NBA First Team status for a second consecutive year. That makes him eligible for a supermax extension next offseason, a deal the Thunder will surely offer.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted , Gilgeous-Alexander can sign a four-year extension worth $294,268,128.
This extension would kick in after Gilgeous-Alexander’s current contract ends in the summer of 2027. In most situations, NBA contracts are backloaded, meaning the final year is the most lucrative. SGA would earn $81,449,214 during the 2030-31 season. To repeat. That’s $81.449 million in salary for a single season of play.
That’s essentially $1 million per game the Thunder play, whether he suits up or not. And it’ll likely be north of that since Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t played a full 82 games since his rookie year.
Joshua Gateley/Getty Images
As a reminder, Michael Jordan earned just shy of $94 million throughout his entire 15-year NBA career. Granted, he’s made billions thanks to endorsements and investments. And while SGA starred in that very memorable (some might say grating) “What a Pro Wants” commercial , he’s still well behind MJ in that regard.
There’s another interesting wrinkle to this extension, too. Gilgeous-Alexander played his rookie season for the Los Angeles Clippers. Then, in the 2019 offseason, the Clippers traded him, Danilo Gallinari, and five draft picks to the Thunder for Paul George .
One of this offseason’s big moves saw George signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. He claimed the Clippers initially gave him a lowball offer , which led to him looking elsewhere. The Sixers gave him four years and $212 million.
Granted, the Clippers needed to acquire George to get Kawhi Leonard on the roster. Still, it’s wild that they lost an MVP candidate and the guy they traded that candidate for in the span of five years—with only one Western Conference Finals appearance to show for it.
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- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Net Worth
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- Four Years Ago, Dennis Schroder Turned Down An $84 Million Contract. He Just Signed For Much Less Than That.
