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Bradley Beal signs two-year contract extension with Wizards

The guard signed a two-year, $72 million contract extension which includes a player option. The extension starts in the 2021-22 NBA season.

By Albert Lee
NBA: Preseason-Washington Wizards at New York Knicks
Bradley Beal will remain with the Washington Wizards for at least another few seasons!
Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Washington Wizards this season is whether they could get Bradley Beal signed to a contract extension beyond the 2020-21 season.

The answer to that question has now been answered.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Beal will sign a two-year, $72 million contract extension with the Wizards starting with the 2021-22 season. Beal had until October 21 to decide whether to accept a three-year, $111 million extension from last summer.

Here is what the contract allows.

  1. Beal gets a big payday — A star like Beal is going to look for an opportunity to maximize earnings. Yes, he’s set for life, but an All-Star also wants a salary that’s commensurate with his relative place in the NBA. This contract allows him to do that.
  2. Beal gets some free agency flexibility — There is a chance that the Wizards’ rebuild may fall on its face, even with Tommy Sheppard running things and Monumental Basketball offering more shared resources. If so, Beal doesn’t have to spend the bulk of his prime playing for a team that may not have much to play for in the postseason, if at all.
  3. Beal will get a 50 percent advance payment of the extension years on his contract, starting in 2021-22 and 2022-23 if he opts in — TALK ABOUT GETTING A QUICK $17 MILLION IN THE BANK BEFORE EACH OF THOSE SEASONS!
  4. The Wizards have something they can sell potential free agents on, if they’re willing to take a salary cut — Beal is the Wizards’ franchise player for the foreseeable future. With that, new players who come to Washington will know that an All-Star and hopefully, All-NBA talent will be part of the mix with younger talent like Thomas Bryant and 2019 first round pick Rui Hachimura. The only issue with free agents is that Beal and John Wall will earn over 50 percent of the soft salary cap. So barring major trades, most players are still going to have to sign for lower salaries than they otherwise could
  5. The Wizards can sell more tickets — Keeping Beal should help increase tickets sales over the next several years if the Wizards move up the standings more quickly than anticipated.

Now that Beal has signed the extension, do you like it? Or do you think he should have declined it? Let us know in the comments below.

Congratulations, Brad!