When Victor Wembanyama’s pen glided across the page in front of him at his home in France, he became an incredibly rich man. Just not quite as wealthy as he could’ve been.On Friday, as relics of his past, nods to his future and the key figures of his professional life surrounded him, Wembanyama signed his next Spurs contract. It’s a five-year extension for 25 percent of the salary cap, projected to come in at $252 million, according to league sources who were not authorized to discuss the financial terms of the deal.Wembanyama was also entitled to receive the supermax clause, which could have raised his salary to 30 percent of the cap (a projected $301 million over those five years) if he wins MVP, Defensive Player of the Year or makes an All-NBA team next season. Considering he had just become the NBA’s first unanimous defensive player of the year, all he’d effectively need to do to earn that extra salary is play at least 65 games next season.He passed up that chance because he had something bigger in mind: helping the Spurs keep this young team together.“Accumulating money has never really been a goal,” Wembanyama said last season.
Putting pen to paper 🖊️🔒 pic.twitter.com/bWu2sudRRt
