Jalen Brunson Contract Extension Makes Him A Fool
The economics of the NFL and NBA are vastly different. On rare occasions, a player like Kirk Cousins or Deshaun Watson will get a fully guaranteed contract, but the majority of NFL contracts are only partially guaranteed. In the NBA, all contracts are fully guaranteed.
The NFL also has a hard salary cap, while the NBA has a soft cap with a luxury tax. This disparity is the reason that NFL players will sometimes take pay cuts or re-negotiate contracts that are more team-friendly. NFL teams need that wiggle room to put a roster together, while NBA teams can go as far over the cap as the team owners are willing to pay.
Jalen Brunson New Deal
In a move that stunned NBA fans, New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson took a pay cut to stay with the team, signing a 4-year deal worth $156.5 million. This may seem like quite a bit of money, and it is, but it's $113 million less than he would get next offseason. The only thing more foolish than not getting paid is his reason behind the unprecedented move.
Allegedly, Brunson is looking to leave money on the table for the Knicks to continue building a championship team. A few of his teammates are already applauding the move. Josh Hart tweeted "Build him a statue". New York superfan KnicksMuse said, "Jalen Brunson just put his number in the MSG rafters."
Jalen Brunson Is A Fool
The fact of the matter is, Brunson's teammates could all get decent-sized contracts even if he took the max amount. The way the NBA salary cap is structured the Knicks could keep their entire squad together and pay Brunson. All he did was save James Dolan money.
NBA fans are cheering a guy who doesn't want to hurt the pocketbook of a billionaire. The applause may not be so loud in two years when Dolan trades or releases half the team despite Brunson's pay cut. If and when the Knicks clean house, Brunson's misperceived heroics will be much ado about nothing.
There's an old adage, "A fool and his money are soon parted." Jalen Brunson just parted with $113 million dollars for no reason. The 1997 song King of Fools by IQ must have been about Brunson; it was just 27 years ahead of its time.