The Houston Rockets are negotiating a contract extension with their starting point guard.
Fred VanVleet entered the 2025 offseason with a $44.9 million team option for the final year of the three-year deal he signed in the 2023 offseason. This means that the Rockets could decide whether or not they wanted to keep him and pay him $44.9 million in 2025.
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Wednesday morning, the team declined that option.
Instead, ESPN Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania reports that VanVleet intends to sign a two-year, $50 million contract to stay in H-Town.
Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet intends to sign a two-year, $50 million contract to stay with the franchise, with a player option in 2026-27, sources tell ESPN. Rockets are declining VanVleet's $44.9 million team option and land the new deal with Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul. pic.twitter.com/rwtEUptBQT
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2025
This deal would bring VanVleet’s yearly salary down nearly $20 million, from nearly $45 million to $25 million annually.
Even so, VanVleet’s extension will give him another year of guaranteed money while providing the Rockets the financial flexibility to build around recently acquired superstar Kevin Durant. For a team looking to load up for a title push in the next two-to-three years, this deal is an ideal outcome.
The Rockets might not be done making moves yet either. Although they don’t currently have draft rights to any picks in tonight’s NBA draft, they still have the future draft capital and bench depth to pursue more talent in the offseason.
SEE ALSO: The Rockets still have picks in tonight’s NBA draft, but not really
Boston’s Derrick White is among the savvy trade options the Rockets could possibly entertain.
