Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler will not sign an extension with the team and plans to play out his current contract before entering free agency, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Butler is set to earn $48.8 million in the 2024-25 season and has a $52.4 million player option for 2025-26. It is anticipated that he will decline the player option to secure a longer-term contract.
Charania also reports that Butler will not sign an extension even if traded to another team. Meanwhile, the Heat have shown no interest in trading their star player at this time.
This decision makes sense for Butler, as the maximum extension he could sign now is for two additional years and $113 million. However, the Heat can offer him a four-year, $243 million deal after his current contract ends, and he could receive a three-year, $171 million contract from another team in free agency.
It remains uncertain whether the Heat are willing to offer Butler a new lucrative contract, especially since he will turn 35 in September and hasn’t played more than 64 games in a regular season since joining the team in 2019-20.
In the 2023-24 season, Butler was limited to 60 games, averaging 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. He missed Miami’s playoff run due to an MCL sprain.