The Thunder Are Now Paying Three Players Over $900 Million

ByJoey Heldon July 14, 2025inArticles›Sports News

The Oklahoma City Thunder won the first championship in franchise history and have immediately put in the work to run it back for seasons to come. First, the Thunder extended a record supermax offer worth $285 million to reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander . Then, Oklahoma City gave Chet Holmgren a rookie max extension which could hit a quarter-billion dollars. Now, the Thunder are paying Jalen Williams top dollar.

Williams and the Thunder agreed to a five-year rookie max extension that will pay him at least $239 million and potentially up to $287 million. He’ll get the extra money if he makes an All-NBA team or wins MVP or Defensive Player of the Year. Williams tore a ligament in his wrist on April 9 and played the rest of the year with the injury, even scoring 40 points in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Between Williams, Holmgren, and Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder have committed approximately $822 million across these three extensions. But they actually owe each player more than that, since the new deals won’t kick in until after next season (or, in the case of Gilgeous-Alexander, after the next two seasons).

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From left to right: Chet Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Williams are all locked into long-term contracts with the Thunder. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Holmgren will make about $13.7 million next season, while Williams will earn just shy of $6.6 million. Gilgeous-Alexander still has two years left on his previous deal, so he’s still owed a little over $79 million.

Put those current and future contracts together, and that’s close to $922 million that the Thunder are spending on these three players. And yet, they all feel like smart, competitive moves.

Gilgeous-Alexander, 26; Williams, 24; and Holmgren, 23 are now all under contract throughout the rest of the decade. For a team as dominant as the Thunder were this season, that could result in multiple championships.

Unlike many teams that give supermax deals to players, Oklahoma City isn’t too hamstrung by bad contracts. GM Sam Presti has constructed a fantastic roster while collecting approximately six billion draft picks. The Thunder have around $77 million in non-guaranteed contracts, which means they can waive players or trade picks to help get under the first and second aprons and avoid costly salary cap taxes.

It’s rare to see a team so young win the championship; the Thunder are the second-youngest squad ever to take home a title. But with this core locked in for the long-term, we very well could witness Oklahoma City hoisting several more trophies.

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Just Signed A Record-Setting $285 Million Contract Extension With The Thunder
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Could Score The First $80 Million Salary In NBA History
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Could Smash The Single-Season NBA Salary Record With His Next Contract
  • By Winning The NBA Finals, Oklahoma City Thunder Players Made An Extra $12.4 Million
  • The All-NBA Teams Are Released — And These Players Are About To Get PAID
  • Cooper Flagg Could Make Nearly A Billion Dollars By The Time He Turns 31

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.

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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.

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Could Score The First $80 Million Salary In NBA History
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Just Signed A Record-Setting $285 Million Contract Extension With The Thunder
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Net Worth
  • The Thunder Are Now Paying Three Players Over $900 Million
  • Kawhi Leonard Is Headed To The Los Angeles Clippers – Here’s How Much He’ll Make
  • Four Years Ago, Dennis Schroder Turned Down An $84 Million Contract. He Just Signed For Much Less Than That.