Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) has agreed to a contract extension, per ESPN. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Former Utah star Jakob Poeltl signs lucrative contract extension

Originally posted on Utah Utes on SI | By Cole Forsman | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 8:37 PM ET

Former Utah men's basketball star Jakob Poeltl agreed to a four-year, $104 million contract extension with the Toronto Raptors, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Poeltl picked up his $19.5 million player option for the 2026-27 season and added three more years to the deal, per Charania. The opt-in-and-extend move was to give the Raptors more roster flexibility in the next two seasons.

Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl has agreed on a four-year, $104 million contract extension with the franchise through 2029-30, sources tell ESPN. Poeltl will pick up his 2026-27 player option at $19.5M and add three additional years to his deal. pic.twitter.com/wBHnoF5vUV
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025

Poeltl has been one of the league's most efficient centers since being drafted ninth overall out of Utah in the 2016 NBA Draft. In fact, he's one of just three players in the association to shoot 60% or better from the field in each of the last eight seasons, along with Minnesota Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert and Denver Nuggets' DeAndre Jordan. Poeltl hasn't shot worse than 60% from the field since his rookie season, when he converted 58.3% of his attempts in just 11.6 minutes per game with the Raptors.

In 2024-25, Poeltl finished top-five in the NBA in field goal percentage at 62.7% shooting from the floor. He also put up career-highs in minutes (29.6), points (14.5) and rebounds (9.6) per game. He recorded two of his four career 30-point games in the span of three days. Poeltl scored 35 in an overtime loss to the Boston Celtics on Nov. 16, then had 30 in a win over the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 18.

Poeltl, 29, spent four-plus seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 8.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 326 appearances with the team. His career mark of 63.1% shooting from the field ranks as the fourth-highest clip in NBA history.

Poeltl starred for the Runnin' Utes as a sophomore in the 2015-16 campaign, earning second-team All-America honors while taking home the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the country's top college center. Poeltl averaged 17.2 points, second-most in the Pac-12, and finished No. 4 in the conference with 9.1 rebounds per game. His 56 blocks that season were also the fourth-most among Pac-12 players.