The Orlando Magic and forward Paolo Banchero have agreed to a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension worth approximately $239 million that, once signed, will be the most expensive contract in franchise history, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
The contract extension will begin with the 2026-27 season and will run through the 2030-31 season, including a player option for the final season of the deal, The Athletic has learned from a league source.
Banchero, who will turn 23 in November, would receive higher annual salaries that would bring the total value of the contract to approximately $287 million if he wins NBA MVP, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award or is named to the All-NBA First Team, Second Team or Third Team during the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Banchero has established himself as the Magic’s centerpiece player since the team drafted him with the first pick in 2022 after his freshman year at Duke. He opened last season as a potential All-NBA candidate before he suffered a torn oblique muscle in the Magic’s fifth game, an injury that forced him to miss 34 consecutive games. He finished the season averaging 25.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game and averaged 29.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game during the Magic’s first-round series defeat to the Boston Celtics.
Banchero joined LeBron James and Luka Dončić as the only players 22 years old or younger in NBA history to compile at least 4,000 points, 1,300 rebounds and 900 assists during their first three NBA seasons.
Magic officials expect their team to contend in the Eastern Conference in upcoming seasons, with 23-year-old Franz Wagner, 24-year-old Jalen Suggs and newly acquired 27-year-old Desmond Bane all under contract at least through the 2028-29 season.
However, the team’s contractual control of its promising nucleus comes at a hefty price — a price that will force the Magic’s decision-makers to tread carefully to avoid the NBA’s punitive first and second aprons in the seasons ahead. No matter how skillfully the Magic manage their cap sheet, team officials will find it difficult to build out their roster and maintain roster balance because of the aprons. That’s the downside of having four highly paid players, two of whom will be on max-salary deals.
The 2025-26 season will be the first season of new contracts for Wagner and Suggs. Wagner’s deal will average approximately $45.0 million over the next five seasons, while Suggs’ deal will average $30.1 million over the next five seasons. Bane is due an average of $40.8 million per season over the next four seasons.
Wagner’s and Suggs’ contracts run through the 2029-30 season, which also will be the fourth year of Banchero’s new deal. If Banchero declines his option for the 2030-31 season, Banchero, Wagner and Suggs would be on schedule to hit free agency at the same time. Banchero also could be eligible for an annual salary at 35 percent of the league salary cap.
It is possible that Banchero could sign the contract extension as early as Monday night.
(Top photo: Reggie Hildred / Imagn Images)
/SI202601151081.webp?ssl=1 "Racing Bulls showcase 2026 livery at launch event in Detroit")
