Curry took less than the max to open the door for one last championship pursuit in the twilight of his career
Page S2From§Eachthe sunrise edition — 26 September 2026
Warriors offered Curry an insane amount to retire; he took $116 million less to keep playing instead.
Hot Mic Moment
(mic hot) get me the political desk — a single roster spot just proved a franchise can find $136.7 million to pay a man not to work, and $62.5 million more to keep him working besides, sums most fans never see attached to a single paycheck; somebody at the league office ought to explain where that kind of spare capital lives the other fifty-one weeks of the year. This reporter would like the political desk to go ask them. Get me the desk.
Gushis side
Which brings this reporter to August, when the New York Post reported the Warriors stood prepared to offer their captain a two-year, $136.7 million extension — on top of the $62.5 million already owed this season — for the gentlemanly favor of retiring in Golden State colors rather than anyone else's. Call it a fellas' agreement: the club paying a man handsomely to stop working for it.
This week the two sides settled the matter instead: Curry has signed a $116 million extension, per CBS Sports today, taking less than the max in pursuit of one final championship run — in a career this reporter still can't place in the right decade.
Trudyher side
2016 — Curry's unanimous MVP, the first in league history, was announced May 10, 2016, per ESPN's own account, his second straight such award. 2009 isn't part of this story; get the year right before you hand the man a co-ownership title he's never actually held.
It's called a retention offer, not a fellas' agreement. The New York Post ran those figures on August 28th — $136.7 million over two years, stacked on $62.5 million already owed, just to keep him out of somebody else's jersey. Nothing gentlemanly about it.
2009, one decade — same year you keep confusing with his MVP season. Read it plain: the team that stood ready to pay him a fortune to sit down just watched him accept less than the max to keep standing up.
Take the mic off and take a nap — that's not sports analysis, that's you finally reading a salary-cap story out loud. And you're right about the paper trail: the New York Post put the retention offer at $136.7 million over two years on top of $62.5 million already owed, against the $116 million extension CBS Sports confirms today came in under the max. Go lie down, sugar.
“The Warriors had $136.7 million sitting there just to pay the guy to stop showing up, and instead he signs for $116 million to keep playing — that's not loyalty, that's a company showing you exactly how much slack is in the budget when it wants something bad enough. Next time they tell your job there's no money for raises, remember somebody found nine figures just to pay a man not to work.”
“Look, this is exactly how a well-run organization should operate — you reward continuity, you reward the guy who built the brand, and he took less than max because he wanted to, nobody forced him into — well, the offer on the table was $136.7 million to retire, so, that's not really a "nobody forced him" situation, that's a retention strategy. Did I say bribe? I didn't say bribe.”
The receipts
· Warriors prepared to offer Steph Curry insane amount to retire in Golden State from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
· In basketball, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors is named NBA MVP for the second straight season. Curry is the first player ever to receive all possible first-place votes. (ESPN) from the morgue, 10 May 2016
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.