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Victor Wembanyama agreed to a five-year, $252 million maximum rookie scale contract extension with the San Antonio Spurs earlier this month.
While this represents a huge payday for the 7-foot-4 Frenchman, he did leave a significant amount of money on the table.
Wembanyama decided to go with the 25% maximum instead of the 30% supermax escalator, saving the Spurs around $50 million over the next five seasons.
Wembanyama made this decision in order to give the Spurs financial flexibility as they continue to pursue an NBA title.
“We have a good team, we had a very good playoff run, and we had a very good regular season. But what’s even better and greater is our potential,” Wembanyama told Jason Jones of The Athletic.
“The reality of today’s NBA is that often, the potential of teams is not fulfilled because of money. I just want to make sure it’s never our case.”
Wembanyama, 22, led the Spurs to the NBA Finals in his third season. He was named the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and finished third in league MVP voting, trailing only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
Wembanyama is fully committed to the Spurs franchise moving forward.
“Spurs family, I’m here to stay,” Wembanyama posted on social media after signing his new deal. “Whatever it takes.”
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