Six Months After Being Traded, De'Aaron Fox Has Signed A Contract Worth Nearly A Quarter-Billion Dollars

Shortly before the trade deadline this February, the Sacramento Kings dealt De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. The three-team trade also included the Chicago Bulls and netted the Kings Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, and a handful of draft picks. For the Kings, it was an admission of defeat. At one point, they had both Fox and Tyrese Haliburton; they traded the latter to build around the former. Now, both guards were sent out of town.

For the Spurs, the move was an attempt to support generational star Victor Wembanyama. Along with the No. 2 pick from the 2025 draft, Dylan Harper, San Antonio is putting together a talented young roster.

That means signing Fox to a long-term extension. And San Antonio has decided he's worth a supermax contract, offering a four-year, $229 million deal—nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.

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The new deal will kick in after this upcoming season. Fox will remain under contract with the Spurs through the 2029-30 campaign.

Fox's best season came in 2022-23. He finished with 25 points, 6.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds, earning his only All-Star appearance and being named to the All-NBA Third Team. He also won the league's inaugural Clutch Player of the Year award and ended up 11th in MVP voting.

That season, the Kings finished third in the Western Conference and made the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06. However, Sacramento ran into the Golden State Warriors in the first round and lost in seven games.

To date, that's been Fox's lone playoff appearance, so San Antonio is giving a ton of money to a player who's never won a playoff series before. Granted, he's got more talent around him now than he did for many of his seasons in Sacramento. Though his numbers dipped a little bit after being traded to the Spurs, the team hopes Fox, who turns 28 this season, will be a stable veteran presence for a young squad.

Fox signing a contract extension with the Spurs was all but assured. He had expressed interest in staying with the team and working to lead the team to postseason success. He just so happened to get every potential dollar he could out of the deal.