Christian Braun Just Signed A $125 Million Rookie Contract Extension With The Denver Nuggets

From the moment he entered the NBA, Christian Braun has been a positive contributor. He's simply building on an already productive basketball career; he won a state title in high school and was named Mr. Kansas Basketball. He helped bring home a championship during his final season at Kansas in 2022. The Nuggets selected him with the 21st pick of the 2022 draft, and he immediately found a spot as a solid bench contributor. In his rookie season, he played a key part in the Nuggets' 2023 championship.

The following two years, Braun continued to develop into a reliable option for Denver. Last season, he started in 77 of 79 games and posted career-highs in every major stat across the board, including an impressive 58% from the field and just under 40% from three. He led the league in transition scoring and also averaged over a steal per game, proving to be a strong defensive presence.

With Braun's rookie contract ending after this season, the Nuggets are rewarding his efforts. The two sides agreed to a five-year, $125 million contract extension, with the deal getting done hours before the rookie extension deadline.

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While $25 million per year might seem like a ton of money to pay such a young player, it's a vote of confidence that Braun will be a part of the team for the long run. He joins Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon as the team's core for the foreseeable future, with each player having at least three years left on their respective contracts.

The NBA introduced a new collective bargaining agreement structure last offseason that penalizes teams for hitting the second tax apron, a number that's well above the salary cap for that season. This deal pays Braun a fair market value while keeping the Nuggets below the luxury tax and well below the apron, so they'll avoid any significant penalties. And since Braun's deal has no player or team option, the Nuggets know they'll have a financially consistent contract for Braun through 2031.

The Nuggets get a long-term commitment from a rising star, and Braun gets a life-changing amount of money. Everybody's happy. Now, the Nuggets hope their core can return them to the NBA Finals and bring another championship home to Denver.