By Shams Charania, Mike Vorkunov, John Hollinger and Jenna West
The Philadelphia 76ers and star center Joel Embiid agreed to a max extension deal worth $192.9 million, according to league sources. The deal, which includes a player option for the 2028-29 season, expands his contract to a total of five years and an overall value of $299.55 million, the sources said.
Embiid will make $51.5 million in 2024-25 and $55.2 million in 2025-26, per the terms of his pre-extension contract. He then will make up to $59.54 million in 2026-27 — the maximum salary he can make if the salary cap, as expected, has the maximally allowed increases of 10 percent for each of the next two offseasons. Tack on eight percent raises of that amount in the following two seasons, resulting in salaries of $64.3 million in 2027-28 and $69.07 million in 2028-29.
Embiid’s contract is the third richest in NBA history behind Jayson Tatum (five-year, $314 million contract extension) and Jaylen Brown (five-year, $304 million extension). Tatum and Brown signed their extensions in July.
The Sixers announced Friday that they signed Embiid to a multiyear extension but did not release the terms of the deal.
Embiid also confirmed the deal in an Instagram post, including a photo of him signing the contract.
“Philadelphia is home. I want to be here for the rest of my career,” Embiid wrote. “I love this community and everything you’ve given me and my family. There is a lot more work to do. You guys deserve a championship and I think we’re just getting started!”
The extension ties Embiid to the Sixers until he’s 35 if he picks up the player option at the end of the deal. It will ensure he’s under contract through his prime. The extension comes just a few months after the Sixers signed Paul George and put together the best roster Embiid has had with the 76ers.
There is some risk for the team. Embiid has been snakebitten by injuries over his career; Philadelphia could be paying max money to a 35-year-old Embiid in 2028-29. Then again there are few players with his size, agility and skills, so Embiid could remain an outlier.
Signing him now puts off any contract year queasiness down the line, and Embiid gets to lock in a gigantic sum of money.
Embiid, 30, has spent his entire NBA career with the Sixers, who drafted him at No. 3 in 2014. He missed his first two seasons with Philadelphia after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot days before the NBA Draft. Embiid made his debut in October 2016 and finished third in NBA Rookie of the Year voting that season. He went on to earn seven straight All-Star selections beginning in the 2017-18 season.
GO DEEPER
The colorful world of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid
In 433 regular-season games, he’s averaged 27.9 points and 11.2 rebounds. Embiid led the league in points per game in the 2021-22 season (30.6 points) and again in 2022-23 (33.1). He capped off that dominant season by winning NBA MVP.
Last season, Embiid averaged 34.1 points per game, but he missed 43 games, which included recovering from surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee.
Embiid has led the Sixers to seven straight playoff appearances, but the team has yet to reach the NBA Finals during his tenure. He also won a gold medal with Team USA at this year’s Paris Olympics.
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(Photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
