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Luka Dončić Can Sign $400 Million-Plus Contract With Lakers In 2028 With No-Trade Clause

Originally posted on Hoops Wire | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 2:47 PM ET

Luka Dončić can sign a $400 million-plus contract with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2028 if he declines his 2028-29 player option, according to NBA insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

Dončić will also be eligible to have a full no-trade clause. The superstar signed a three-year, $165 million extension with the Lakers this past Saturday.

If Dončić gets the $400 million-plus contract in 2028, he will become the first player in NBA history to make over $80 million annually.

“The three-year contract extension Dončić chose to ink includes a player option for 2028-29 that enables him to become a free agent in the summer of 2028 and then sign a five-year deal worth in excess of $400 million,” Stein wrote. “That second Lakers deal would more than offset the five-year supermax in the $340 million range that he was initially expected to sign with the Mavericks this summer.

“Yet there is another bonus that comes with the contract structure Dončić chose: Dončić will be eligible to have a full no-trade clause added to his next deal as long as he goes to unrestricted free agency and signs an all-new contract. NBA players can only become eligible for a full no-trade clause with eight years of service time and four with the same team. No-trade clauses, however, can only be added to a new contract; league rules preclude them from being added to extensions.

“Dončić will have technically spent only 3 1/2 seasons as a Laker by the time he can decline his 2028-29 player option and become a free agent, but league sources tell The Stein Line that he’ll indeed be deemed a four-year Laker at that point because he will have finished four consecutive seasons in purple and gold at that stage.”

A future Hall of Famer, Dončić enters next season with career averages of 28.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists with the Dallas Mavericks and Lakers. He’s third in NBA history in points per game, trailing only Michael Jordan (30.12) and Wilt Chamberlain (30.07).

Dončić appeared in 28 games with the Lakers last season. The five-time All-Star averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

Los Angeles lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, but Dončić played well offensively. He averaged 30.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists.