Sixers exercise third-year option on 2024 first-round pick

The Philadelphia 76ers have exercised the third-year option on Jared McCain‘s rookie scale contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

The move guarantees McCain’s $4,422,600 salary for the 2026-27 season. The team’s next decision on the guard’s contract will occur next fall, at which point his ’27-28 option worth roughly $6.84M would need to be either picked up or turned down.

The No. 16 pick in the 2024 draft, McCain looked like one of the standouts of last year’s rookie class during the first two months of the 2024-25 season. He averaged 15.3 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game on .460/.383/.875 shooting in 23 contests before suffering a season-ending injury — a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, which required surgery — in December.

Although he has since recovered from that knee injury, McCain has yet to make his 2025-26 debut after undergoing thumb surgery a month ago. Once he’s ready to return, the 21-year-old will join an increasingly loaded Philadelphia backcourt that has been headed up by Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe on the team’s four-game winning streak to open the season.

The deadline for teams to exercise rookie scale team options is Friday. As our tracker shows, McCain's option was the only one the 76ers had to decide on.