Report: Jazz Agree To Contract Extension With Donovan Mitchell
Nov 22, 2020, 10:26 AM | Updated: 3:35 pm
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz and Donovan Mitchell agreed to a contract extension.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Mitchell will sign a five-year, $195 million deal to remain in Utah.
Mitchell’s rookie scale contract doesn’t expire until the end of the 2020-21 season, but the two sides were able to guarantee their respective futures together by coming to an early extension.
Reportedly, the news came to Wojnarowski through Mitchell’s agents.
BREAKING: According to @wojespn, @spidadmitchell has agreed to a 5-year, $195M max rookie contract extension with the @utahjazz. More to follow on https://t.co/4kU961CZ7h pic.twitter.com/Lx2k66fiCo
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 22, 2020
Mitchell averaged 24 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists during his third NBA season and earned a selection to his first All-Star game in Chicago. The guard set a franchise record when he scored 57 points in Utah’s game one loss to the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs. Mitchell led all postseason scorers with a 36.3 point per game average.
The five-year deal should be viewed as a sigh of relief for Jazz fans as the team now owns the franchise cornerstone’s rights for the foreseeable future. Mitchell could have signed a shorter extension with an eye towards hitting the unrestricted free-agent market at an earlier date.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweeted a breakdown of what Mitchell’s financial numbers will look like depending on the guard’s performance.
Donovan Mitchell rookie max extension
Contract vs. the max he could earn
20/21 $28.1 ➡️$33.7
21/22 $30.4➡️$36.4
22/23 $32.6 ➡️$39.1
23/24 $34.8 ➡️$41.8
24/25 $37.1 ➡️$44.5Total $163 ➡️ $195.6
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) November 22, 2020
The Jazz attached significant bonuses into Mitchell’s deal if he were to qualify for an All-NBA team. The bonuses range from $5.6 million in year one up to $7.4 million in the final year of his deal. According to Marks, the final year of the deal is a player option.
The franchise can now turn its eye towards extending the contract of All-NBA center Rudy Gobert who is set to hit the unrestricted free-agency market next summer.