Franz Wagner is the latest beneficiary of the NBA’s continuing salary inflation.
Since being selected eighth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, the combo forward has developed into a franchise cornerstone for an Orlando team that surprisingly earned the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference last season.
Wagner, a Michigan product who turns 23 in August, agreed to a $224 million contract extension with the Magic that could be worth up to $269 million with incentives. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski,.
The contract is believed to be the largest in franchise history and will take effect during the 2025-26 season.
Wagner’s incentives reportedly include being eligible for 30 percent of the Magic’s salary cap hit if he is selected to an All-NBA team, which is common for big contracts around the league.
Wagner averaged the best of his career across the board last season.
The 6-foot-10 German is expected to average 19.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in 2023-24, all career highs.
Wagner also shot 48.2 percent from the field, but made just 28.1 percent of his 3-point attempts on 4.6 attempts per game, the worst performance of his career so far.
Despite his regression from deep, Wagner is considered the Magic’s second-best player behind All-Star Paolo Banchero.
The team is looking to build on a 47-35 season that ended in the first round of the playoffs by edging the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games.
The former University of Michigan star is set to represent Germany at this summer’s Olympics in Paris.
