For the first week of the season, Anthony Edwards seemed like a frontrunner for the NBA’s MVP award. In four games, he averaged 33.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2 steals per game, shooting 40% from three-point range. Those numbers will stay where they are for some time, however: Edwards is undergoing a procedure on his right knee and is expected to miss up to two months.
The injury is bad news for both the Timberwolves and Edwards. After reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2024 and 2025, Minnesota was looking like an early championship contender this year. And thanks to a particular NBA rule, sitting out could cost Edwards tens of millions of dollars.
How the Supermax Rule Works
Under the league’s current collective bargaining agreement, NBA players can sign a “supermax” contract if they have spent between seven and nine seasons in the league and have achieved specific criteria. Those milestones include winning MVP in any of the three seasons prior to signing, making an All-NBA roster the season before signing or in two of the three previous seasons before signing, or winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year the season before signing or in two of the three previous seasons before signing.
However, to be eligible for those awards, a player must appear in at least 65 games. The timeline for Edwards’s injury means he is almost certainly going to miss more than 17 games. If that is the case, he would be ineligible to sign a supermax contract this offseason, which is worth 35% of the salary cap. In Edwards’s situation, his supermax would be worth $304 million over four seasons; other projections say that deal could even bump to as high as $345 million.
All Hope Is Not Lost
Edwards should still be set financially. His current deal, a five-year, $244.6 million contract, runs through the 2028-29 season. He reached the All-NBA second team last year; if he makes an All-NBA roster next season or wins MVP during the 2027-28 campaign, he could still sign a supermax in the summer of 2028. With the increasing salary cap, that total contract would probably be worth even more.
What is more likely is that Edwards signs a one-year deal worth $30 million that tacks on to the end of his current deal. By the summer of 2030, Edwards would be entering his tenth season, so he would be eligible for a contract worth 35% of the salary cap simply due to his service time in the league.
The Flaw in the Rules
While Edwards should still be set financially, his injury highlights a flaw in the league’s rules, as Celebrity Net Worth frames it. Because of severe luxury tax penalties introduced in the last CBA signed in 2023, teams often have to make tough decisions about keeping or getting rid of their players. It has led to an odd scenario where teams and fans are almost hoping their star players miss enough games during the season to sign contracts that are not as high as they can be. With Minnesota, the team needs to balance Edwards’s deal with upcoming contract extensions for new additions, including LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga. Salary cap and contract discussions are always a hot topic around the league, and complicated situations like the one with Edwards will continue playing out over the coming seasons. All figures here are estimates from public sources.
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