Anthony Edwards' $260M Max Timberwolves Contract Called 'a Bargain' by NBA Fans

Anthony Edwards may not play for the money, but he just got a whole lot of it.

The Minnesota Timberwolves and their All-Star guard agreed to a five-year designated player maximum extension worth an estimated $260 million Monday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Edwards is the third player in the 2020 NBA draft class to reach a maximum contract extension, joining LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton. Much like the Ball and Haliburton signings, fans instantly took to social media to praise the long-term deal.

Edwards, the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, averaged 24.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game last season to earn his first All-Star selection. LeBron James made Edwards the top reserve pick in the 2023 All-Star draft.

As far as whether Edwards' contract actually turns out to be a bargain, that will be determined by his continued development as a player. While he's improved his points, rebounds and assists totals in every NBA season, it's been at a steady pace rather than as one massive leap. If Edwards plateaus as the player he was last season—an All-Star but not an All-NBA selection—he'll look much less like a bargain.

If he develops into a true cornerstone superstar as the Wolves hope, then by definition he'll be a superstar. Even in the supermax era, the game's best players are underpaid relative to their value.

With the NBA set to negotiate new television contracts that start in the 2025-26 season, it's likely the league's cap will rise enough that Edwards' deal will take up a smaller portion of the cap than expected. That said, with cap smoothing implemented as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, we will not be seeing a leap similar to the 2016 jump, which limits the amount of "bargain" Edwards can become.