The Denver Nuggets are kicking off the most important offseason in franchise history now that they have their front office structure sorted out with Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace splitting duties in the front office. While there are plenty of urgent tasks at hand to rebuild the roster to maximize the rest of Nikola Jokic’s prime, another important task is approaching the horizon in a contract extension for Jokic.
Jokic is eligible for a hefty contract extension this offseason, one that would add another three years onto his current supermax deal he signed back in the 2022 offseason. The contract, which will be around three years and $212.5 million (yes, that’s almost $71 million per year), would have him decline the player option on his current deal as a result and keep him with the Nuggets through the 2030 season.
The Nuggets WILL offer Nikola Jokic an extension this summer but he may not accept it, per Kroenke pic.twitter.com/9dDodzGJJl
— Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) June 24, 2025
Vice Chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment Josh Kroenke said that the extension will be on the table for the three-time MVP to decide on this summer.
“We’re definitely going to offer it,” Kroenke said at a press conference on Tuesday.
However, Kroenke said that there is a chance that the Serbian superstar might not accept the contract offered by the Nuggets. Not because of tension between him and the organization, but rather because he could get more money in his pocket if he were to wait a year.
“I’m not sure if he’s going to accept it or not because we’re also going to explain every financial parameter around him signing now versus signing later. To be completely transparent, that’s the way we always are and he makes the best decision for himself and his family and we’ll support him in it,” Kroenke said.
The Knicks did the same thing with their star in Jalen Brunson last offseason, who opted to take the financial security and accept a deal worth a lot less rather than waiting another year to squeeze another $113 million out of the Knicks. The extension he signed in 2024 was good for four years and $156.5 million rather than the potential 5-year, $269.5 million deal that would’ve been on the table this summer.
If Jokic were to wait a year on the extension to get more money out of it, it would restrict the Nuggets’ ability to create a formidable roster around him even more with the Jamal Murray contract extension that’s set to kick in next season. While it’s unlikely that Michael Porter Jr. will be around on a high salary at that point in time, the contracts of Jokic, Murray and a looming extension for Aaron Gordon will take up a majority of Denver’s cap space, as the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is in place until the end of the 2030 season.
While all this is going down, Jokic is over in Serbia, doing his thing and enjoying his summer. Who knows if he will take the deal that is more team-friendly this year, or if he will wait a season to get more money out of it or potentially see if the Nuggets keep heading in a downhill direction?
