Bulls' Updated Roster, Salary Cap After Josh Giddey's $100M Contract in NBA FA

Playing the waiting game ultimately paid off for Josh Giddey.

The veteran guard agreed to a four-year, $100 million contract to return to the Chicago Bulls, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. It's a pretty good piece of business when a different restricted free agent, Cam Thomas, settled on the one-year qualifying offer less than a week ago when his market was tighter than expected.

Assuming the deal is split evenly across the four years, Giddey will have the highest salary on Chicago's roster for 2025-26:

Chicago Bulls 2025-26 Payroll

• Josh Giddey, SG, $25 million
• Nikola Vučević, C, $21.5 million
• Zach Collins, C, $18.1 million
• Patrick Williams, PF, $18 million
• Kevin Huerter, SG, $18 million
• Coby White, PG, $12.9 million
• Isaac Okoro, SG, $11 million
• Jalen Smith, PF, $9 million
• Tre Jones, PG, $8 million
• Ayo Dosunmu, $7.5 million
• Jevon Carter, PG, $6.8 million
• Matas Buzelis, SF, $5.5 million
• Noa Essengue, PF, $5.5 million
• Dalen Terry, SG, $5.4 million
• Julian Phillips, SF, $2.2 million
• Lachlan Olbrich, C, Two-Way Contract
• Emanuel Miller, SF, Two-Way Contract
• Yuki Kawamura, G, Two-Way Contract

Salary info via Spotrac

ESPN's Bobby Marks provided a broad overview in terms of Chicago's financial commitments and future assets:

The franchise was in a tight spot with Giddey, hence the front office finding some middle ground between a reported offer of $22 million annually and the $30 million per year the player originally wanted.

The Bulls don't have a lot of young stars who can be building blocks for the future. Giddey will only turn 23 in October, and he had a solid first year in the Windy City. He averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists, and his three-point percentage (37.8) was a career high.

And while the sunk cost fallacy is real, it would've looked even worse for Chicago to trade Alex Caruso for Giddey in a one-for-one swap, only to let the Australian playmaker walk as a free agent the following summer.

The biggest questions are what comes next for both Giddey and the organization.

While the contract isn't a major overpay, it's based partially on the 6'8" continuing to improve on the court. If that potential fails to materialize, then his salary will look more cumbersome.

The Bulls, meanwhile, still have a lot of work ahead to become a serious contender in the Eastern Conference. Should they continue to tread water, Giddey's unrestricted free agency in 2029 will become a bigger factor.

Despite being in a big market, the Bulls aren't a major draw for free agents, so they're often left to double down on their internal options.

There's certainly a possibility that re-signing Giddey proves to be a mistake given the flaws in his game. On the whole, however, this is a sensible gamble.