Nikola Jokic Refuses To Sign Contract Extension; May Earn $80 Million More Next Season

Nikola Jokic has reportedly informed the Denver Nuggets that he's not interested in signing a contract extension with them at this time. The three-time regular season MVP was eligible to sign a three-year, $212 million extension with the team this summer.

According to the Denver Post, Jokic will be eligible to potentially sign a $292 million extension with the Nuggets if he waits till next season. That is worth $80 million more than what the 30-year-old superstar is eligible to sign this summer.   

NBA Insider Marc Stein has confirmed as well that Jokic intends to wait till next season to extend his contract so that he can potentially earn $80 million more than what he will if he signs this summer. 

The former MVP averaged a triple-double for the entire season, for the first time in his career. He became the second player in the modern era to accomplish this feat after Russell Westbrook. Jokic averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists in the regular season and finished second in the voting for the Michael Jordan MVP Award for the regular season. 

While we do not know how the Nuggets front office feels about this, Jokic is well within his rights to hold off on negotiations until next season. The Nuggets would ideally want to do everything to lock down the Joker in Denver for the foreseeable future in his NBA career, but ofcourse, a rational person would assume they would've preferred to do it for $80 million less than what it may potentially cost them now. 

After a heartbreaking exit from the 2025 Playoffs in a Game 7 loss to the current champions, Thunder, the Nuggets immediately looked to make a major change to their roster. On the first day of free agency, they traded Michael Porter Jr to the Nets for Cam Johnson. 

Analysts have also suggested that they move on from Jamal Murray and trade him as well. But one thing that is for certain is that Jokic will still be the cornerstone for everything that the Nuggets build in their future for at least the next five years or so. 

Earlier this summer, the Nuggets' owner, Josh Kroenke, mentioned that he fears a potential scenario where they may be forced to trade Nikola Jokic due to the second apron. Therefore, it is clear that the Nuggets are looking to take all measures to ensure they avoid the second apron and keep Jokic with the Nuggets for a long time.