What Might Jalen Suggs' Next Contract Command of the Orlando Magic?

Fellow members of his draft class to have signed extensions include Evan Mobley with Cleveland, Cade Cunningham with Detroit and Scottie Barnes with Toronto, plus Wagner’s deal mentioned earlier. Each new contract earned by that quartet is a max deal – reserved for those who are typically a top option, or close second, for their franchise.

How teams structure their books with contracts is also altered from previous years by the current collective bargaining agreement, where teams are heavily penalized financially for tendering too many expensive contracts and exceeding tax aprons. It also limits the amount of flexibility a team has regarding what roster transactions teams can make. Point being, it’s a status most teams look to avoid at all costs – even if it means letting talented players walk freely.

With Paolo Banchero as a surefire max contract-caliber player becoming eligible for an extension next summer, where his rookie max extension can be worth up to 25% of a team’s salary cap and increase with incentives for All-NBA nods and more, Wagner and Banchero will be worth nearly 50% of the initial salary cap ($140.588 million in 2024-25). 

Given that, the Magic must then decide how much money it’s comfortable wrapping into Suggs’ next contract.

“We’re hoping to get it across the finish line eventually,” said Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman during a SiriusXM NBA radio interview interview in July, regarding Suggs’ contract extension. “The timeline is different with every conversation. Like I said, we have young guys on our team that we want to try to keep together.”

When finding the right number to meet at, Suggs’ best comparisons are likely non-max players around his age who have already locked in extensions from previous draft classes. 

Immanuel Quickley’s new 5-year, $175 million deal with Toronto has him at 23.12% percent of the league’s cap, but he’s a borderline second option for the Raptors, who have R.J. Barrett, Bruce Brown and Jakob Poeltl at 18.3%, 16.4% and 13.9% of the league cap respectively. Barnes’ new contract kicks in following this season, when Brown’s $23 million is off the books. Quickley is an impressive young guard whose been given more leeway since being traded from the Knicks, and his contract is a reflection of Toronto’s interest in him as a potential top-two player in their system.

Jaden McDaniels’ 5-year, $131 million deal in Minnesota has him as the fourth highest-paid player for the Timberwolves, who are perhaps more comfortable shelling out expensive deals despite the current ownership dispute. At 16.37% of the league’s cap, 24-year-old McDaniels is a fourth starter alongside Karl-Anthony Towns’ 35%, Rudy Gobert’s 31.2% and Anthony Edwards’ 30% cap hits. For what McDaniels provides to the Timberwolves, however, his price tag could be viewed as a better value than first glance may suggest – especially for a contending team in the Western Conference.

With Banchero and Wagner likely ahead of Suggs in the Magic’s pecking order, paying him top-two option money along the lines of Quickley’s figure could come with risk and potential future roster limitations. Yet, with his performance exceeding that of a fourth option in Orlando's system, it’s more realistic that he sees a deal that would exceed the price tag McDaniels’ deal totes.

Jonathan Isaac’s contract is worth $25 million for Orlando this season following his re-signing this offseason, but that figure drops to $15 million in 2025-26. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s two-year deal is worth 16.2% and 14.0% of the league cap over the next two years respectively, with a player option valued at 12.7% in the third year. As for the actual money involved, Caldwell-Pope’s $66 million is spread into $22.75 million this year and $21.6 the two years following. The rising cap year-over-year means these inflated numbers are increasingly common in the new NBA financial landscape.

The salary cap for the 2025-26 season, the year Suggs’ new deal would take effect, is around $154.6 million. With the current contracts on the Magic’s books, Orlando figures to have around $31.5 million in flexible space below the first tax apron. Could a deal be struck with Suggs to land right around a $30 million AAV (average annual value) and keep them under the first apron? Or, would the Magic be comfortable leaning into the apron to satisfy Suggs financially?

In June, Keith Smith of Spotrac projected Suggs’ deal would land at four years and $112 million, with no options included in the deal. At $28 million AAV, he’d be worth just over 18.1% of the Magic’s ‘25-26 salary cap. A four-year deal would carry Suggs through his age-27 season, or Orlando could sign him for five years even without a max contract – another new wrinkle in the most recent CBA.

For reference, a deal at $30 million AAV would have Suggs at 19.4% of the salary cap.

Should Suggs hit restricted free agency, a max 25% salary cap offer sheet would be north of $38 million, meaning a match from Orlando would exceed the projected first tax apron.

Therefore, it’s not only crucial for Orlando to lock in the deal before the season starts to have the financial numbers that back their young guard, but it could help them avoid either restricting themselves further by signing him to a max rookie scale deal or – much worse – losing him entirely to the highest bidder.

Time is money, and with just over two months until the deadline, Suggs and Orlando could be on the clock to find the right price.

(All contract figures, percentages and future cap projections referenced in this article are provided by Spotrac.)