Warriors extend franchise player through 2027

When he became a two-time MVP in 2016, Steph Curry was the 61st-highest-paid player in the NBA. He's making up for the shortfall on the back end of his career.

Coming off his first Olympic gold medal, Curry extended his deal with the Golden State Warriors Thursday. The new extension runs through the 2026-27 season, adding an extra year at $62.6 million. That's the most he can add in terms of both years and money, as the NBA's "over-38 rule" prevents players from signing a deal lasting more than three years if they'll turn 38 during that contract. Curry will turn 39 Mar. 14, 2027, so he and the Warriors are committing to each other as long as legally possible.

He's already 36, but the Olympic triumph was led by older NBA stars like Curry and Kevin Durant, who turns 36 in September. 39-year-old LeBron James was the Olympic basketball MVP.

As the salary cap is projected to rise to over $170M thanks to the league's lucrative new broadcast rights deal, Curry's deal reflects the state of NBA salaries, which are poised to climb much higher.

Plus, he's certainly worth the money from a business standpoint. Curry has the NBA's top-selling jersey . Last season, Game 4 of the Warriors' series with the Kings drew the best TV rating for a first-round series in 21 years — then Game 7 drew 30 percent more viewers than that.

Curry is now poised to surpass $500M in career earnings from his NBA salary, a milestone he'll be third in NBA history to reach, after LeBron James passes the $500M mark next season and Kevin Durant follows him in 2025-26.

The deal doesn't necessarily mean Curry will be done after three more seasons, though it is a possibility. His Warriors teammates Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins have contracts ending after 2026-27 as well, which could signal the end of an 18-year Steph Curry era in the Bay Area. But Curry remains an elite player, and the Warriors' recent decline has happened in spite of him, not because of him.

It's a huge amount of money, but Curry certainly has earned it over his career. Don't be surprised if he signs a similar one-year extension next summer, too.