As we explain in our glossary entry on veteran contract extensions, rookie scale extensions used to be the most common form of contract extension in the NBA. However, recent Collective Bargaining Agreements have loosened the rules on eligibility for veteran extensions and made them more financially advantageous, especially for players who don’t expect mega-deals.
As a result, we’ve seen a substantial bump in veteran contract extensions in recent seasons. In every league year since 2021/22, at least 17 players have signed veteran extensions, including 27 in 2024/25. We’re not quite up to 17 yet in ’25/26, but there’s plenty of time for this season’s list to continue to grow, right up until June 30, 2026.
[RELATED: 2025/26 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]
Certain extension-eligible players, such as Austin Reaves and Coby White, may prefer to wait until they reach free agency to sign a new contract, since their maximum extension would be far less than the maximum contract they’d be eligible to earn on the open market.
The maximum starting salary a player can receive in a veteran extension is up to 140% of his current salary. A player on a more modest contract can receive a maximum starting salary worth up to 140% of the NBA’s estimated average salary.
In 2025/26, 140% of the estimated average salary would work out to a $19,418,000 salary in the first year of a contract extension. A player who signs an extension that fits that bill could get up to four years and approximately $87MM. That’s far below market value for a player like Reaves, who turned down that offer from the Lakers at the start of the 2025 offseason.
Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith is an example of a player who did sign that sort of extension (starting at $19,418,000) in recent months, though his new deal is just for two years instead of four.
Now that the regular season is underway, the group of veterans eligible for contract extensions has shrunk, since players with more than one year left on their contracts aren’t permitted to sign an in-season extension. But there are still a number of veterans in the final year of their respective contracts who remain eligible for extensions right up until the last day of the current league year (June 30).
Listed below are the players who meet the criteria for a veteran extension. Players who were recently traded can be extended, but they have to wait for six months after the trade to sign a contract longer than four total years (including the current season) with a first-year bump of more than 20% or a subsequent annual raise exceeding 5%. If a player below is noted as having “limited” eligibility until a certain date, that’s why.
Once a player regains his full extension eligibility, he becomes eligible to sign an extension of up to five total years (including the current season) with a 40% first-year raise (or 40% of the estimated average salary).
Additionally, extension-eligible players with a player or team option for 2026/27 would have to eliminate that option year as part of an extension agreement in order to meet the necessary criteria.
Here’s the full list of veterans eligible for contract extensions during the 2025/26 season:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
GG Jackson II
Eligible as of February 9.
2026/27 team option must be declined.
Vince Williams Jr.
Eligible as of January 10.
2026/27 team option must be declined.
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards