Jokic postpones contract renewal of Nuggets, earning $80 million more tomorrow summer

On July 9, according to the Denver Post, Nikola Jokic has informed the Nuggets that they will not sign a contract renewal during this offseason, and plans to postpone the contract negotiations until the summer of 2026. As a three-time MVP winner, Jokic has at least two years left in his current super maximum salary contract and has the 2027-28 season player option. By the rules, he can renew his three-year $212 million contract with the team starting Tuesday, but delaying the contract renewal will allow him to make about $80 million more next summer. The Nuggets management had long expected this, and the two sides had previously communicated on the two options.

30-year-old Jokic is the best in the Nuggets' history. He averaged 21.8 points, 10.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists in his career. He was selected as the All-Star 7 times. In 2023, he led the team to win the first championship in team history and won the MVP in the finals. However, in the past two seasons, the Nuggets have both lost to the Timberwolves and the Thunder in the second round of the playoffs.

Last season, Jokic scored a triple-double average of 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists, with a shooting percentage of 57.6% and a three-point shooting percentage of 41.7%, ranking second in MVP votes. It is worth mentioning that the Nuggets fired Michael Malone at the end of the season, and David Adelman has officially become the head coach.