Latest On Cavs’ Cap Situation, Sam Merrill, Ty Jerome

Sam Merrill is staying with the Cleveland Cavaliers and getting a nice payday in the process.

For starters, the Cavaliers and their free agent guard have agreed to a four-year, $38 million contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The deal rewards Merrill for two strong seasons as a key rotation player and occasional sharpshooter for a Cavs team that won 64 games in 2024–25.

Merrill, 29, arrived in Cleveland on a 10-day contract in March 2023 and parlayed that into a multiyear minimum-salary deal. Since then, he’s quietly become one of the league’s more reliable catch-and-shoot threats.

Over the past two seasons, Merrill averaged 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18.7 minutes per game, connecting on 38.8% of his 3-point attempts. Many were deep, quick-trigger releases that spaced the floor and helped fuel Cleveland’s high-powered offense.

But it wasn’t just the shooting. Merrill also earned praise for his development on the defensive end, with coach Kenny Atkinson and teammates consistently citing his effort and awareness. He ranked No. 37 on Hoops Wire’s top 50 free agents of 2025.

His return was hardly guaranteed. Cleveland’s ballooning payroll left room for doubt, with Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reporting earlier Saturday that there was “pessimism” inside the organization about its chances of re-signing both Merrill and fellow free agent Ty Jerome.

Now, with Merrill locked in and Lonzo Ball acquired from the Chicago Bulls earlier in the day, the writing appears to be on the wall for Jerome. Per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, Jerome has been seeking a deal near the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception — a price the Cavs may no longer be positioned to meet.

Cleveland is already projected to operate above the second tax apron, and Merrill’s new deal only adds to the financial strain. Cap analyst Yossi Gozlan estimates that re-signing Merrill could increase the Cavs’ tax penalty by approximately $50 million, pushing it close to $143 million. That number remains fluid, dependent on the team’s next moves.