Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox is an exciting, talented rising star. He even said he didn’t crave to be in a big market.
That’s music to Sacramento’s ears.
The Kings are showing their appreciation with a max rookie-scale contract extension.
Shams Charania of The Athletic:
Sacramento Kings young star De'Aaron Fox has agreed to a five-year, $163M maximum extension, with clause to reach the $195.6M super max, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 21, 2020
Deal negotiated by his agent @chrisgaston_ of @FamFirstSports.
Fox was already under contract for next season. This extension will kick in in 2021, when the exact compensation will be determined. It’ll depend where the 2021-22 salary cap lands and whether Fox makes an All-NBA team next season.
Projections (based on Bobby Marks’ reporting of negotiated super-max terms):
- No All-NBA: $163 million
- All-NBA third team: $170 million
- All-NBA second team: $183 million
- All-NBA third team: $196 million
A downside for Sacramento: Fox will now begin next offseason counting against the cap at his 2021-22 salary (which projects to be $28 million without an All-NBA selection and would be even higher with one). If they had delayed, the Kings could have held Fox at a $24,298,881 cap hold, used their cap space then exceeded the cap to re-sign him to a contract with the exact same terms of this extension.
The upside: This keeps the franchise player happy and prevents him from signing a shorter offer sheet in restricted free agency. The Kings will have done especially well if the extension contains no player option, keeping Fox under team control for six more years.
