A discount, of sorts
One hundred and fifteen million dollars. That’s the two-year extension Kawhi Leonard just signed with the Toronto Raptors, and it comes in shy of the max he could have commanded.
Blame a clause buried in the trade that brought him north. It locks his raise at 20% for year one of the new deal. Wait six months, and Leonard could have chased something closer to $128 million on a fresh max contract. He took the guaranteed money instead.
There’s a player option tacked onto 2028-29. Leonard will be 37 by then. The option leaves him a door to walk through if he wants one last look at free agency.
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A wild summer lands him in Toronto
Leonard arrived with the Raptors on the back of an NBA investigation into salary-cap circumvention involving the Clippers. Los Angeles paid dearly for it, five future first-round picks gone. Leonard’s own penalty was lighter: a $700,000 fine, no suspension, no dent in his contract.
That case pushed the move to Canada along. This extension now lands him in rare company. Only eight players in NBA history have crossed $500 million in career earnings, and Leonard’s deal pushes him into that group.
Toronto still has bills to pay
Taking less than the max buys the Raptors some breathing room. The front office still has to navigate the salary cap from 2027-28 onward, with two extensions looming for RJ Barrett and Jamal Shead.
By leaving money on the table, Leonard handed Toronto a bit of flexibility to build a roster that can hang with the rest of the East.
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