Lakers' Updated NBA Salary Cap After Luka Doncic's $165M Contract Extension

Luka Dončić didn't waste any time affirming his commitment to the Los Angeles Lakers, signing a three-year, $165 million contract extension that ties him to the club through at least the 2027-28 season.

Saturday marked the first day Dončić was eligible to sign a new deal with the Lakers. The 26-year-old wrote on X after signing the contract he is "excited to keep working to bring championships to LA and make Laker Nation proud."

ESPN's Bobby Marks provided the annual salary breakdown for Dončić:

Using those figures, here is what the Lakers' salary cap looks like for each season of his new contract:

• 2025-26: $194.8 million
• 2026-27: $105.1 million
• 2027-28: $78.4 million
• 2028-29 (Dončić player option): $57.6 million

There was some uncertainty about what approach Dončić would take with his contract because of how much money he lost through his trade from the Dallas Mavericks.

The February deal took the five-year, $345 million supermax off the table for Dončić. His options ranged from playing out his current deal, which could have expired as soon as next summer if he had turned down his player option for 2026-27, to signing for up to four years and $228.6 million.

Dončić wound up splitting the difference and giving himself the opportunity to sign a five-year deal that could be worth up to $417 million in the summer of 2028.

The Lakers have reportedly been planning to keep cap space open for the summer of 2027 when the list of potential free agents could include Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Davis.

As things currently stand, Dončić is the only player the Lakers have signed to a guaranteed contract after the 2026-27 season. Jarred Vanderbilt has a $13.3 million player option for 2027-28. Dalton Knecht, Bronny James and Adou Thiero all have club options on their rookie contracts for 2027-28.

When the Lakers were able to add Dončić, he became the central force around which all of their decisions would be made. They got him to quickly buy in by signing a new contract as soon as he became eligible.

Now, the work begins for general manager Rob Pelinka and the front office to take advantage of having Dončić under contract for at least the next three seasons before he could potentially become a free agent in the summer of 2028.