76ers' Salary Cap After Joel Embiid's Rumored 3-Year, $193M Contract Extension

Having already secured long-term commitments from Paul George and Tyrese Maxey earlier this summer, the Philadelphia 76ers took care of the third member of their big three by getting an extension done with Joel Embiid.

Per The Athletic's Shams Charania, Embiid has agreed to a three-year, $193 million max extension that guarantees him $301 million over the next five seasons.

The seven-time All-Star posted a picture on Instagram of himself signing a new contract, along with a message to Sixers fans.

Since Embiid was already under contract for the next two seasons, there's no change to the 76ers' cap until the 2026-27 season. Here are the updated cap figures for the team over the next five years, per Spotrac:

• 2024-25: $181.5 million
• 2025-26: $186.7 million
• 2026-27: $172.5 million
• 2027-28: $183.1 million
• 2028-29: $115.5 million (with Embiid's $69.1 million player option)

Despite having three players on max contracts, the 76ers are still $6.2 million under the second apron going into the 2024-25 season.

This is crucial for any potential trades president of basketball operations Daryl Morey might look to make during the season because the Sixers have the ability to aggregate multiple contracts to match the contract for a single player they could bring in.

The team is projected to be over the cap for the life of Embiid's contract, but they will enter next offseason $18.6 million under the second apron.

Embiid, George, Maxey and Caleb Martin are the only players currently on the roster with guaranteed money after the 2025-26 season. Adem Bona is owed $2.3 million in 2026-27, but his salary doesn't become guaranteed until one day after the free-agent moratorium period in the summer of 2026.

All of this is to say that the Sixers are in really good shape as far as the cap is concerned, despite having three players who will account for $135.8 million next season.

There is significant risk in what the 76ers have done this offseason. Embiid has been hampered by injuries throughout his career and has struggled to carry over his performance in the regular season to the playoffs.

George, who is 34 years old, missed at least 18 regular-season games in his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers. He did play 74 games last season, his most since the 2018-19 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder (77).

Having Embiid, George and Maxey under long-term contracts does give the 76ers more margin for error because if one of them suffers an injury, they still have two of them on the court together.

Embiid's ability to stay healthy, particularly in the playoffs, will likely determine the 76ers' ceiling now and in the future. They clearly believe in his ability after getting him to sign a long-term deal that will keep him in Philadelphia for up to five more years.