Undrafted Bucks guard's success story continues with $45M payday

A.J. Green's career arc

Green is a 6-foot-4 three-and-D wing with a career rate of 42.1% from beyond the arc, including 42.7% last season. The Bucks had a +6.4 net rating during his 1,659 minutes of action in 2024-25, compared to a -0.9 mark in the 2,292 minutes he didn’t play.

Because he was an undrafted free agent rather than a former first-round pick, Green was eligible for a veteran contract extension — not a rookie-scale extension — as he entered the final year of his current contract with Milwaukee.

His salary of $2.3M in 2025-26 is well below the NBA’s estimated average salary ($13.87M). That meant he was eligible to receive a starting salary worth up to 40% of the estimated average salary on an extension, which worked out to a maximum of $87M over four seasons.

However, the Bucks were never likely to have to go nearly that high to retain him. Sam Merrill‘s recent contract with Cleveland (four years, $38M) can be a reference point for Green. Since he’s three years younger than Merrill and has been a more accurate shooter (albeit on a lower volume), he had a case for an eight-figure annual salary.

Still, getting four guaranteed years at more than $11M per season is a big win for Green — as ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out, his career earnings to date, including his salary for the coming season, total just $6.3M.

Green is now just one of two Bucks players who is owed guaranteed money beyond the 2026-27 season, along with Myles Turner. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Ryan Rollins and Tyler Smith all have player or team options for 2027-28 on their respective deals.