Knicks' Brunson takes discount with $156.5M extension

The New York Knicks and guard Jalen Brunson have agreed on a four-year, $156.5-million extension, his agent told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The deal is a significant discount for Brunson, who could've sought a five-year, $269-million contract as a free agent in 2025. It affords New York significantly more financial flexibility to continue to build its roster around the 27-year-old.

Brunson will own a player option worth $43 million for the final year of the extension in 2028-29, according to Wojnarowski. Had he waited until free agency to sign a max deal with the Knicks, that contract would've paid him over $61 million in its final year in 2029-30.

The Villanova product scored a career-best 28.7 points per game last season in 77 starts and has emerged as the franchise's de facto captain since signing with the Knicks as a free agent in the summer of 2022. Along with earning his first All-Star nod, Brunson had a career night in late March when he scored 61 points in an overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs - one shy of Carmelo Anthony's franchise-record 62 from 2014.

Brunson registered his best performance in a Knicks win in December, when he dropped 50 points on 17-of-23 shooting, going a perfect 9-of-9 from distance, against the Phoenix Suns. He's also helped the Knicks reach the conference semifinals in both seasons with the club, including a run this past spring in which New York took the Indiana Pacers to seven games despite multiple injuries.

Friday was the earliest Brunson could've signed his new extension.