In 2025, the San Antonio Spurs signed De’Aaron Fox to a four-year, $222 million contract extension. At the time, the Spurs had just invested heavily in the All-Star, trading three first-round picks for him.
While Dylan Harper was already on the roster, the Spurs had no reason to think that he would emerge as one of the better players in the league as quickly as he did. After being selected second overall, the general consensus was that he would experience the same growing pains as most rookie guards.
Instead, he broke out in the NBA Finals and is already arguably the second-best player on the roster.
As a result of Fox’s own shortcomings in the playoffs and his decline already starting, Bleacher Report’s Dave Favale ranked Fox as the fourth-worst contract in the entire NBA.
Unless the Spurs can trade Fox, they’re on the hook for another maximum salary, limiting their options moving forward. However, with Wembanyama accepting a pay cut and two more seasons before Harper can be extended, the Spurs are in a good place, even with Fox on the books.
Spurs Shouldn’t Worry About De’Aaron Fox’s Salary
Even the most ardent Fox supporter would admit that he is overpaid. Every team has bad contracts. It’s part of making deals that last over four seasons; by the time the contract is well underway, players’ talents shift.
Remarkably, not only is Fox the only “bad” contract the Spurs have, but every other contract is actually pretty good.
| Player | 2027-28 Salary | Projected Value |
| De’Aaron Fox | $53.7 million | $36.8 million |
| Victor Wembanyama | $43.5 million | $60.7 million |
| Devin Vassell | $24.6 million | $28.2 million |
| Tobias Harris | $15.7 million | $20.0 million |
| Julian Champagnie | $15 million | $30.0 million |
| Dylan Harper | $13.6 million | $32.2 million |
| Stephon Castle | $12.6 million | $35.2 million |
| Luke Kornet | $9.9 million | $14.0 million |
| Carter Bryant | $5.3 million | $6.3 million |
By the 2026-27 season, Stephon Castle will have signed his rookie extension, although he will still be playing on his rookie contract. Harper and Bryant, meanwhile, are one season behind.
Harrison Barnes, Jordan McLaughlin, and Keldon Johnson are not under contract for the 2027-28 season and have been omitted. As have players without any NBA experience. While Fox’s contract is one of the worst, Yahoo’s Ben Rohrbach ranked Wembanyama’s as the single best in the NBA. It’s hard to argue with that.
While the Spurs will have to pay Fox more than he’s worth (unless they can trade him), it’s hard not to be enthused about the team’s financial future. Players like Champagnie and Harris took less than market value this summer to play next to Wembanyama, which makes it easy for the Spurs to build a winner.
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