MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - MARCH 21: Nic Claxton #33 of the Brooklyn Nets goes up for a shot on Jae ... [+]
The Brooklyn Nets, and center Nic Claxton, have reportedly agreed to continue their working relationship under a new four-year contract worth up to $100 million, with $96 million guaranteed.
Such a contract, which averages $25 million per year, assuming Claxton hits his incentives, might appear significant on the surface, except the NBA's new financial reality is that's actually not that steep of a price.
As the league's new salary cap number settles in, and is expected to land at $141 million, Claxton's deal - if we assume a flat rate of $25 million - starts at just 17.7% of the salary cap, and declines from there given the league's expected year-to-year cap increase of 10%, starting in July of 2025.
17.7% is not a high cap percentage for a starting center who has developed into one of the best defenders in the NBA. And, in fact, odds are good that Claxton's contract starts at a lower number, lessening his cap percentage for the 2024-2025 season.
If the numbers on Spotrac is any indication, Claxton stands to start his new deal at just over $22.3 million, or 15.8% of the cap.
This reality is one NBA fans will need to come to terms with in coming years. Whereas $100 million contracts used to be considered a sum reserved for only superstars, the value of it today, in NBA dollars, has drastically lessened.
That doesn't mean the NBA's financial system has changed. Max players are still just getting 25%, 30%, or 35% of the cap, depending years of service. The raw volume of money has just made the numbers larger, which can be difficult for fans to sometimes put into perspective.
As the salary cap is expected to increase from next summer, in 2025, by 10% year to year, the value of most deals signed then, will be worth less, from a percentage standpoint, the longer that contract ages.
That means teams are likely going to be more willing to fork over deals that seem large initially, as they know they'll even out over time.
Simply put, this is the new financial reality of NBA contracts.
And as such, NBA fans, and the basketball community at large, would stand to greatly benefit from switching their focus from raw dollar amounts to cap percentage, or at least use cap percentage as an anchor to evaluate contracts.
If for nothing else, it provides a stable baseline that takes into account year-to-year cap fluctuations, and it helps all of us be able to gauge the salary of Nic Claxton in a far more accurate light.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
