Hornets reach five-year, $209 million extension with Brandon Miller
Brandon Miller and the Charlotte Hornets agreed on a five-year, $209 million rookie-scale contract extension Monday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported, citing Miller's representatives AJ Vaynerchuk and Joey Middleton of VaynerSports. Guaranteed money, any incentives, the year-by-year salaries and the season the extension begins were not disclosed.
The agreement came minutes before the 6 p.m. deadline for extensions of 2023 draft-class players, the New York Post reported, citing multiple reports. Without a deal, Miller would have been a restricted free agent next offseason.
The extension ties Miller to Charlotte through the 2031-32 season, according to headtopics. Yardbarker described the deal as signed and official, while Charania and the Post reported an agreement.
The $209 million is more than any player from his draft class other than Victor Wembanyama, headtopics reported. Miller was selected second overall in 2023, directly behind Wembanyama, according to Yardbarker.
Miller averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 65 regular-season games in 2025-26, shooting 38.3% from three, per Yardbarker and the Post. Charlotte went 41-24 with him on the floor and 3-14 without him, Yardbarker reported, and finished 44-38 before losing to the Magic in the play-in.
The extension follows an offseason in which the Hornets traded LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves and Miles Bridges to the Suns, leaving Miller and Kon Knueppel as the team's leads, according to the Post and headtopics. Naz Reid, Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale came back to Charlotte in those moves and Coby White signed a three-year deal, headtopics reported.
Miller had surgery in May for instability in his left shoulder, an issue that cost him time in November, the Post and Yardbarker reported. His second season was injury-plagued, and Yardbarker noted surgeries on his wrist and shoulder.
He was a full participant in the preseason and is expected to start on opening night, the Post reported. The Hornets open at Brooklyn on Oct. 21, per Yardbarker.
Per WAGE, Miller's salary last season ranked 140th of the 435 rated players and his production ranked 95th, production well above the pay.
That return carried a WAGE Score of 67 in 2025-26, in the Smart Money tier, against 8 in 2024-25, his injury-plagued second season.
The 2025-26 score was earned on a $12.0M salary and does not carry over to the new contract. The extension asks Miller to carry that production into the lead role left by the Ball and Bridges trades.