Mike Brown News Emerges After Joining Knicks

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dean Koutouratsas | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 4:04 PM ET

The New York Knicks filled their head coaching vacancy this week by signing two-time NBA Coach of the Year recipient Mike Brown to a four-year, $40 million deal, according to SNY reporter Ian Begley.

Begley noted that Brown’s new contract clause will offset his prior deal he received from the Sacramento Kings, who fired him in December 2024, which will help the Kings save money. However, the specifications of the contract remain unknown.

“But SAC will almost certainly save money on what it owes Brown because of Brown’s new NYK contract and the offset clause,” Begley reported on X. “This clause, which is standard in NBA coaching contracts, says that when a coach is hired by a new team, the new salary will offset some or all of the money remaining on the contract the coach had with his/her previous team.”

The Knicks’ deal with Mike Brown is for four years and $40M in total, per league sources familiar with the matter. The Knicks chose Brown as their new head coach earlier this week after a roughly four-week search. Taylor Jenkins, James Borrego, Micah Nori and Dawn Staley were…
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 5, 2025

Brown had signed a three-year, $30 million extension with the Kings in June 2024 that was supposed to run through the 2026-27 season and included a base salary of $8.5 million per year. Meanwhile, New York signing Brown ends a four-week search, where the front office interviewed candidates such as Taylor Jenkins, James Borrego, Micah Nori and Dawn Staley, according to Begley.

Furthermore, the decision to hire Brown comes after they decided to part ways with head coach Tom Thibodeau on June 3 after he led the Knicks to three straight playoff appearances but fell short of reaching the NBA Finals.

Thibodeau had agreed to a three-year extension last offseason that was intended to keep him in New York until 2027-28, but the front office and Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose didn’t feel that he could help the team reach their true potential.

“At the time of his firing, the Knicks still owed Tom Thibodeau at least $30 million on his contract,” Begley wrote. “So between Thibodeau’s deal and Brown’s deal, which was noted earlier by @CPTheFranchise, New York has a total of $70 million in committed salary to the head coaching position over the next four years.”

However, Begley did note that the total does not factor in the impact of the offset clause from Brown’s deal or a potential buyout agreement with Thibodeau.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: