Mikal Bridges Signs Million-Dollar Extension with the Knicks
New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges has agreed to extend his contract with the franchise for four years and $150 million, according to his agents, Sam Goldfeder and Jordan Gertler of Excel Sports Management.
The agreement includes a player option for the 2029-30 season and a trade clause. Bridges cannot be traded for six months after signing the extension.
Bridges has accepted a slight discount compared to the maximum possible extension ($156 million) to help the Knicks maintain the flexibility needed to continue building their roster. Alongside Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and other players, Bridges was key to the Knicks reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years last season.
With this agreement, the most urgent question of the Knicks’ preseason has been resolved. Brunson’s extension in 2024 and now the agreement with Bridges give the Knicks the flexibility to operate under both salary limits, allowing them to add more players to the roster.
Bridges had an up-and-down inaugural season with the Knicks after being traded to the team last summer in exchange for five first-round draft picks, which led to speculation that the Knicks might look to trade him rather than offer him a multimillion-dollar extension.
Bridges, who will turn 29 in August, struggled at the beginning of the season, as the Knicks used him to defend ball handlers, a role the former Defensive Player of the Year runner-up wasn’t accustomed to. His free throw attempts decreased drastically compared to the previous season, as he adapted from being the first or second option on the Brooklyn Nets to being the fourth in the Knicks’ pecking order on many nights. He also generated surprise within the organization when, in March, he said he had asked then-coach Tom Thibodeau to reduce the minutes of the starters a bit, telling reporters “sometimes it’s not fun for the body.”
However, he was also effective in several ways, playing again in every game and finishing second in the NBA in corner three-pointers made and third in the league, behind Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, in field goal percentage from mid-range (minimum 150 attempts).
Bridges stood out at several key moments during the postseason. In addition to having a couple of double-digit quarters in the series against the Celtics, he also made key stops in the final plays of Games 1 and 2, in which the Knicks achieved consecutive victories by coming back from 20 points.
