What would a potential contract extension look like for Collin Sexton?

NBA money has never been higher.

It's resulted in players making contracts that have raised eyebrows, and we almost constantly see "highest paid player in NBA history" every offseason. We certainly see "highest paid player in team history" every few months.

One upcoming contract for the Charlotte Hornets? Collin Sexton.

The Hornets dealt for Sexton in early July, sending center Jusuf Nurkic to the Utah Jazz. He's entering the final season of a four-year, $72 million contract that was signed in a sign-and-trade deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Over those four years, Sexton has increasingly gotten better, shooting a career-high 40.6% clip from three-point range during the 2024-25 season. He averaged 18.4 points, while adding 2.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists across 63 games with the Jazz last season.

Sexton has yet to play meaningful basketball, being shipped out of Cleveland just before the team became an Eastern Conference contender, and arriving in Utah after the team was a Western Conference contender. It's not to say Sexton is not a winning player; he has simply found himself in tough situations, similarly to what he will find himself in with the Charlotte Hornets.

Sexton will likely start at shooting guard alongside LaMelo Ball, being tasked with staying off-ball more when Ball is on offense and being a lead ball-handler when he's off. It's the best secondary guard the Hornets have had in years, and someone who should stay with the team for the foreseeable future.

That being said, NBA money is crazy,

Sexton is set to make nearly $19 million this year, which is, in all honesty, an underpay. Could he sign a deal around the same number? Absolutely. Though when he sees the contracts some of his peers are signing, it might make him want a bigger payday.

Immanuel Quickley's AAV is most likely the starting point for Sexton. He averaged better stats across the board than Quickly, and IQ is set to make $32.5 million over the next four seasons.

What makes this difficult for the Hornets is how they need to spend money over the next few years. Throwing around money is not exactly something Jeff Peterson and co. want to be doing already, as they still need to pay Brandon Miller, and eventually will need to give Tidjane Salaun and the Hornets 2025 rookie class all deals.

So, what could be a proper AAV that works for both Sexton and the Hornets? We just saw Alex Caruso and the OKC Thunder agree to a 4-year, $81 million deal. It's around 20 million a season. While Caruso is arguably a better player and integral to a championship team, Sexton could see his stats being better and still argue for more money.

The two sides could find common ground, agreeing on a deal around 3 years, $82 million, with a team option after two seasons. The discussions of options have become difficult, with Golden State's Jonathan Kuminga not accepting a 3-year, $75.2 million deal with the Warriors, as he did not receive a player option.

The Hornets are not in a situation to tie up significant money to anybody outside of their franchise cornerstones, where it remains to be seen whether or not Sexton is one. While $27 million per year is a lot, in the modern NBA, it's become less and less.

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