The Magic are signing Franz Wagner to a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Wagner’s extension, which will begin in 2025-26, contains Rose rule language. Wagner would need to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or make an All-NBA team in 2024-25 in order to earn 30% of the 2025-26 salary cap instead of 25%.
Assuming the salary cap rises by 10% in 2025-26, Wagner will earn at least $224M from 2025-30, with the potential to make about $269M. ESPN’s Bobby Marks has a year-by-year breakdown of the projected extension.
The No. 8 overall pick of the 2021 draft after two college seasons at Michigan, Wagner has started every game in which he’s appeared for Orlando over his first three NBA seasons. The 22-year-old German posted career highs in several statistics in 2023-24, including points (19.7), rebounds (5.3), assists (3.7) and steals per game (1.1).
In addition to his two-way versatility, the 6-foot-10 forward has been quite durable to this point in his career, only missing 15 of a possible 246 regular-season games. Wagner won a gold medal with Germany at last summer’s World Cup and was on the team’s preliminary roster ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, which open in late July. He called the chance to play in the Olympics “a dream come true.”
Wagner is the second player to agree to a rookie scale extension this summer, joining Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, who will also be signing a five-year max deal featuring Rose rule language. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham is also expected to sign a max extension, but the deal has yet to be finalized.
Wagner will earn just over $7M next season in the final campaign of his rookie scale contract.
