Jimmy Butler still signed a lucrative extension with the Heat. He’ll still be under contract through age 36 in 2026.
But it’s a three-year extension, not the four-year extension initially reported, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Instead of replacing his $37,653,300 player option for 2022-23 with a higher max salary (projected to be $42 million) in the extension, Butler exercised his player option in conjunction with the new deal. The extension will begin in 2023.
The extension will be worth between $135,240,854 and $146,396,030.
A reasonable estimate: $142 million with annual salaries only slightly lower than they would have been in those extended seasons on the four-year extension. The exact amounts will be determined when the salary cap is set in 2023. (That’s before the new national TV deals would begin.)
This is still plenty to pay Butler, as excellent as he is, as he ages. Miami just gets moderate savings in 2022-23 with more variability, though likely additional slim savings, the following three years.
