$272.9 million is the number that now sits atop the 2026 NBA offseason. That is the approximate value of the four-year extension Donovan Mitchell signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a deal that carries a player option for the 2030-31 season, according to NBA.com. The option effectively gives Mitchell a route to test free agency one final time even after locking in the bulk of his earnings now.
The New Number One
Mitchell’s extension pushes past Wembanyama’s rookie-scale deal, making it the largest confirmed extension of the offseason so far. The gap between the two contracts is roughly $20.9 million, and it reshuffles the order of the biggest signings of the summer at a moment when several other franchise cornerstones are also finalizing new terms.
Mitchell also left money on the table by acting quickly. He could have waited until the following summer to negotiate a projected five-year, $353 million contract, but he chose to sign on the very first day he became eligible, trading a larger long-term number for immediate security with the team that just traded for him.
Wembanyama’s Record Deal
Before Mitchell’s signing, Victor Wembanyama had set the standard for the offseason by agreeing to a five-year extension worth roughly $252 million with the San Antonio Spurs. Until Mitchell’s number came in, it stood as the largest rookie-scale extension in NBA history, a category reserved for players still on their first contract after being drafted.
“Spurs family, I’m here to stay. Whatever it takes,” Wembanyama said of the commitment.
Giannis Waiting in the Wings
The next domino could dwarf both of those figures. Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible on October 1 to decline his player option and sign a four-year, $275 million extension, a number that would immediately reset the top of this list.
Should that deal go through as structured, it would rank among the largest contracts ever signed in NBA history, ahead of even Mitchell’s new number, underscoring how quickly the offseason hierarchy can change once the calendar turns.
The Rest of the Top Tier
Several other franchise cornerstones locked in extensions of their own this offseason. Ranked by total contract value, the field looks like this:
- Luka Doncic (Lakers): three years, $160,380,000, starting in 2026-27
- Mikal Bridges (Knicks): four years, $150 million, starting in 2026-27
- Devin Booker (Suns): two years, $145,345,200
- Kevin Durant (Rockets): two years, $90 million, starting in 2026-27
- P.J. Washington (Mavericks): four years, $88,762,440
- Jakob Poeltl (Raptors): three years, $84,084,000
- Tari Eason (Rockets): five years, $81.5 million
Doncic and Booker both signed at the maximum salary allowed for their service time, while Durant’s deal is a shorter two-year term that reflects his stage of career rather than a discount on his production. Washington, Poeltl and Eason round out the tier below, each securing multi-year security worth between roughly $80 million and $90 million.
Rookie-Scale Watch
A tier below the headline names sits a pair of rookie-scale extensions still working through the calendar. Julian Champagnie is eligible for a four-year, $87 million extension with the Spurs if San Antonio does not exercise his team option instead, a decision that will shape how the front office allocates its remaining cap space.
Brandon Miller is eligible for an even larger jump. The Charlotte Hornets forward can sign a maximum extension worth up to $250 million over five seasons, a figure that would put him in the same neighborhood as Mitchell and Wembanyama and mark one of the largest rookie-scale commitments in league history if it is finalized.
A Crowded Market
None of this is happening in isolation. More than 100 players are eligible to sign extensions during the 2026 offseason, a list that includes Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic and Donovan Mitchell, according to NBA.com.
That volume of eligible names is part of why rankings like this one keep shifting week to week, in the same way our look at the most-watched sporting events in TV history gets reordered as new broadcasts land.
For other numbers-driven snapshots of the current sports calendar, see how the 2026 World Cup’s group stage compares to prior tournaments, or why Formula 1’s new aero rules are changing race outcomes this season.
Season Tips Off
The 2026-27 season begins October 21, following the New York Knicks’ championship in the previous campaign, giving every team on this list a concrete date by which their new financial commitments officially start counting against the cap.
