Gary Trent Jr. Agrees to $64 Million Deal to Stay with the Milwaukee Bucks

By Jamal Collier, ESPN NBA Reporter — July 11, 2026, 06:03 PM ET

What Happened?

Imagine your favorite basketball team wants to keep a player they like, so they give him a big new contract. That’s exactly what happened in Las Vegas!

Gary Trent Jr. has agreed to a new deal to keep playing for the Milwaukee Bucks (a team in the NBA, the top basketball league in the U.S.).

Here are the key facts:

• It is a four-year contract (he stays for 4 seasons).
• The total money is $64 million (that’s $64,000,000!).
• The news came from Rich Paul (the boss of a sports agency called Klutch Sports) and Lucas Newton (Trent’s agent), who told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Saturday.

Important Callout: This is a massive payday for Trent! He used to make much less, and now he gets a huge amount of money from the team.

Who is Gary Trent Jr.?

Gary Trent Jr. is a basketball player who has been with the Milwaukee Bucks for the last two seasons. Think of him as a guard (a player who often shoots from far away and helps move the ball).

His performance numbers in Milwaukee:

• He averaged 9.7 points per game (points are like goals in basketball).
• He made 41% of his shots overall.
• From the three-point line (a line far from the basket), he made 39% of those shots.

How Did We Get Here? (Trent’s Contract Journey)

Let’s look at the simple steps of how Trent’s money story unfolded:

1. Summer 2024: Trent signed for the league minimum — the smallest amount of money a team is allowed to pay a player by the rules.
2. Before last season: He got a two-year, $7.5 million contract (that’s $7.5 million spread over 2 years).
3. Recently: He used a player option — a special choice in his contract — to say “no thanks” to the extra year and became a free agent (a player free to talk to any team).
4. Now: He agrees to the big $64 million deal to remain with Milwaukee.

Was He Wanted by Other Teams?

Yes! According to people who spoke to Charania, several other teams liked Trent and were interested. They were even working on possible sign-and-trade deals.

What is a sign-and-trade?
It’s like this: A team signs a free agent (gets him to agree to join) and then immediately trades him to another team. It’s a way for teams to swap players using contracts.

But in the end, Trent decided to return to Milwaukee.

Why Could the Bucks Pay Him So Much?

The Bucks had something called Bird rights for Trent.

What are Bird rights?
The NBA has a “salary cap” (a limit on how much teams can spend on players). But if a player has been with the same team for a while (Trent signed back-to-back deals with Milwaukee), the team gets special permission — called Bird rights — to spend over the limit to keep their own player.

Also, ESPN’s Bobby Marks shared that Trent’s salary for the first year of this new deal will be $15.2 million.

What Does This Mean for the Bucks’ Lineup?

Trent is joining a crowded backcourt mix — that means there are already many guards (backcourt players) on the team. It’s like a classroom that already has lots of kids who play the same position.

The Bucks already have these backcourt players:

• Tyler Herro (traded for)
• Caris LeVert (traded for)
• Ryan Rollins (on roster)
• Kevin Porter Jr. (on roster)
• Brayden Burries (drafted at No. 10 in the rookie draft — meaning he was the 10th player chosen)

So Trent adds to that full group.

Summary

Let’s recap in simple terms:

• Gary Trent Jr. will stay with the Milwaukee Bucks for 4 more years at $64 million total.
• He was a free agent after opting out of a smaller contract, but chose Milwaukee over other teams.
• The Bucks used special “Bird rights” to sign him, and his first year pays $15.2 million.
• He joins many other guards already on the team.
• The news was reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, based on info from Trent’s agents, and Bobby Marks added salary details.

FAQ

1. What does “league minimum” mean?
It’s the smallest salary allowed by NBA rules for a player. Trent first joined Milwaukee on that tiny salary, then got a bigger one, and now a huge one.

2. What is a free agent?
A free agent is a player whose old contract has ended (or they opted out) and they are free to sign with any team they choose.

3. Why are “Bird rights” important?
They let a team spend more than the usual limit to keep a player who has been with them for consecutive seasons. Without them, the Bucks might not have been able to offer such a big contract.

4. What is a “backcourt”?
In basketball, the backcourt usually refers to the guards — players who handle the ball, shoot from outside, and help start the team’s plays. Trent is one of those.

5. Who reported this news?
ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the story from info by Rich Paul and Lucas Newton, with extra salary info from Bobby Marks. The article was written by Jamal Collier.