Former Kansas wing Christian Braun has singed a lucrative contract with the Denver Nuggets. Off the back of a breakout campaign in 2024-25, Braun has been rewarded and it comes ahead of the rookie extension deadline at 5 p.m. CT on Monday. According to a report from ESPN, the contract is a five year deal worth $125 million.
The average annual salary of Braun's contract comes out to $25 million per year. He is slated to make a shade under $5 million this season, per Spotrac. While Braun's new contract doesn't come close to touching Joel Embiid's average annual salary (believed to be $62,748,000 per Spotrac), Braun will become one of the highest paid former Jayhawks in the NBA when his contract kicks in. Andrew Wiggins is another top earner. He is in the third year of a three plus one deal he signed which has an average salary of $27,250,001. If he takes up his player option for the 2026-27 season, Wiggins will make just over $30 million.
Another Jayhawk to watch before the deadline is Ochai Agbaji, who also faces the rookie extension deadline. He was also a first round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, though he hasn't had as much success as Braun in the NBA.
Overall, Braun took a big leap during his third season with the Nuggets organization last season. After he played 15.5 minutes as a rookie and 20.2 minutes in his second season, Braun averaged 33.9 minutes during the regular 2024-25 regular season, starting 77 games. He averaged 15.4 points per game while shooting a career-best 58% from the field and a career-best 39.7% from 3. He also recorded a career-best 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.
"Winner, we know what he is," former league MVP Nikola Jokic said of Braun in the playoffs earlier this year. "A 50/50 player, the ball is always in his hands. ... All the dirty work, all the small plays you guys don't see, it's not in the stats. Decision-making is much better. Shooting the ball, decision making."
The Denver Nuggets will open up the 2025-26 season on Thursday night when they travel to face the Golden State Warriors. The game will tip off at 9 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN.