Why Amen Thompson’s reported $250M extension is worth the debate originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Amen Thompson is 23 years old, has never made an All-Star game, and is expected to sign a contract worth more than $250 million this summer. The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Will Guillory reported the deal is expected to happen, with a five-year structure that would put Thompson at roughly $50 million per season, placing him among the league’s highest-paid players.
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The Rockets believe in him. The question the rest of the league is asking is whether that belief is coming too early.
The case for paying Thompson now
Thompson’s 2025-26 season gave a real argument. He averaged 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists while shooting 53.4 percent from the field and adding 1.5 steals per game.
When the Rockets faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round before being eliminated in six games, Thompson averaged an exhausting 44 minutes per game and posted 19.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per night.
He is durable, two-way, and by most measurements, he’s one of the better guards in basketball.
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Houston‘s payroll for 2026-27 already sits at $184.9 million, per Basketball Reference. Alperen Sengun is above $35 million per season. Jabari Smith Jr.‘s extension nearly doubles his salary to $23.6 million.
Add Thompson on top of this list and the Rockets will be committing well over $200 million to a core group that has not yet made it past the first round of the playoffs together, two years running.
Well, the Rockets can argue this is smart business, locking him up now before restricted free agency in 2027 opens the door to complications and bidding wars. That is probably the right call. But $50 million per year demands more than upside, and right now Thompson is still in the process of proving he can be that guy.
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