The Atlanta Hawks have yet to offer Trae Young the four-year $229 million contract he is eligible for, setting him up free agency next summer.
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The Atlanta Hawks have yet to offer Trae Young the four-year $229 million contract he is eligible for, setting him up free agency next summer.
TheAtlanta Hawks have made multiple moves this summer to make a jump in the Eastern Conference. However, the one move they haven’t made is extending franchise leaderTrae Young to a long-term contract, putting their plans in question.
ESPN’s Mark Spears gave a bit more context to the Young and Atlanta situation on NBA Today. The insider said that Young is ‘disappointed’ the franchise has yet to offer him a new contract.
“What I’m hearing now, at this point— you can tell by Trae’s Tweet, and I saw him during the Finals— I think he’s disappointed that it hasn’t come, it hasn’t been offered,” Spears said. “So don’t be surprised if he plays this out, and sees what happens next summer.”
Young is entering the last guaranteed year of thefive-year $215 million contract he signed with the Hawks in 2021. He has a player option for 2026-27, but if he is without an extension, that could mean Young is on his way out next summer as an unrestricted free agent.
Young Has Been Giving Hints
Along with what Spears mentioned, Young himself has made his thoughts on a potential long-term deal pretty explicit. Following along with one of the biggest NFL storylines, Young sent a message to Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys amid his contract dispute with the team.
“This why you pay the man early, when someone will take less early to stay in a place he wanted to be forever, you do it… the price only goes up now!”Young wrote on X in response to Parsons’ explanation for requesting a trade. “Get what you deserve bro!”
This why you pay the man early, when someone will take less early to stay in a place he wanted to be forever, you do it… the price only goes up now!Get what you deserve bro!
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) August 1, 2025
Young alsoposted an hourglass emoji in July, the day he was eligible for the extension.
The Hawks have had the chance to sign Young to a four-year $229 million deal this summer, but nothing has happened yet. The deal was able to be offered on July 6, the same date as Young’s cryptic X post, but he remains one of the top players eligible for an extension that now looks to be playing out the final year of his deal.
“Without an extension, Young could become an unrestricted free agent in the 2026 offseason if the player option is declined,”ESPN’s Bobby Marks wrote back in June. “Another factor to consider is the limited trade partners available if Atlanta were to make Young available.”
Young led theNBA in assists this past season, averaging 11.6 per game, along with 24.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals on 41.1% shooting. He has scored at least 24 points per game in every season but his rookie year, earned four All-Star appearances, and led Atlanta to its second conference finals appearance in franchise history back in 2021.
Hawks’ Offseason Moves
Despite Young’s ‘disappointment’, Atlanta has been busy over the summer, adding pieces to surround their point guard, even if this could be his last year with the team.
Notably, the Hawks landedKristaps Porzingis,Nickeil Alexander-Walker, andLuke Kennard through the first month of the offseason. However, they did loseClint Capela,Caris LeVert,Larry Nance Jr.,Terrance Mann, andGeorges Niang.
Atlanta has beennamed one of the biggest winners of the summerby multiple outlets, and though they lost more players than they gained, the ones they added came in on team-friendly deals, offering more financial flexibility for a Hawks team trying to take a leap next year.
They still have up-and-coming players likeZaccharie Risacher,Jalen Johnson, andDyson Daniels, with the latter two slowly turning into some of the best defensive players in the NBA.
However, all of Atlanta’s moves could be relatively meaningless if they end up losing Young as an unrestricted free agent next summer. If they haven’t offered him a max extension yet, their best bet might be finding a trade partner before the deadline in February.
As Marks wrote back in June, “Unless Young is willing to compromise on his next contract (at three years, $120 million, for example), it is hard to see the Hawks writing a $229 million check to the 26-year-old All-Star.”