The Memphis Grizzlies were the early birds of this NBA free agency as they announced multiple deals within the first hour of NBA free agency. They extended Jaren Jackson Jr, Santi Aldama, and Cam Spencer, as well as signing the free agent Ty Jerome. They also traded away Luke Kennard and hence had a very active start to free agency.
Jaren Jackson Jr. signed a five-year, $240 million supermax contract extension with the team after spending seven seasons with the Grizzlies. This is the largest contract the Grizzlies have handed out in their history, and it keeps him with the team until the end of the 2029-30 season.
Following this news, Jaren Jackson Jr took to social media and expressed his feelings about the extension and the city of Memphis.
“The M will teach you who you are. w love. It’s always grit n grind when we’re out here at all costs.”
“Still feel like I remember moving here yesterday. Year 7. I am incredibly thankful for everyone who has impacted my time here. too much more ahead. Always been the M”
What makes this deal even more interesting is that the Grizzlies do not have the salary cap space yet in their team to accommodate the deal agreed with Jackson Jr. Therefore, now following the agreement, they will have to clear a lot of salary cap space on their roster to include the terms they have agreed upon with Jackson Jr.
According to Yossi Gozlan, the NBA salary cap analyst for Cap Sheets, the Grizzlies are in a peculiar position.
“The Memphis Grizzlies need to clear a lot of cap space to make room for Jaren Jackson Jr.’s renegotiation. Interesting, we got the deal first before the salary dumps necessary.”
According to Cap Sheets, the Grizzlies are expected to be $62 million above the salary cap level (expected to be $170.1 million in 2026/27), which is way above the second apron approximation for that season (10% above $207 million). Hence, the Grizzlies will be forced to make further moves to empty the salary cap space to prevent themselves from breaking second apron restrictions in that season. This contract has therefore put the Grizzlies in a tricky situation as they may have to be on the losing end of some trades to cover this aforementioned deficit.
