According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Orlando Magic have signed small forward Franz Wagner to a five-year deal worth up to $270 million. Wagner's contract extension makes him the first player the Magic have signed to a rookie max contract extension since Dwight Howard.

BREAKING NEWS: Orlando Magic striker Franz Wagner has agreed to a five-year contract extension worth up to $270 million, league sources report. @TheAthletic @StadionThe 22-year-old Wagner has established himself as a cornerstone of the Magic. pic.twitter.com/aRcIjkWWI3

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 5, 2024

The Magic selected Wagner with the No. 8 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. In his rookie year, the German native averaged 15.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Wagner also started all 79 games he appeared in and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting. In his three seasons with the Magic, he became a cornerstone and key player alongside forward Paolo Banchero.

News of Wagner's contract extension comes just days after the team re-signed his brother Moritz Wagner for two years and $22 million.

Orlando Magic sign contract extension with former lottery winner

Franz Wagner is the key to the success of the Orlando Magic

Last season, the Magic finished the season with a record of 47-35 and finished 5th in the Eastern Conference. This was their best record since 52-20 in the 2010-11 season. Although they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games in the first round, some would say it was a successful season for Orlando. The season before that, they finished 34-48. And in the 2021-22 season, the Magic finished with a record of 22-60, the worst in the Eastern Conference.

Franz Wagner’s maximum rookie extension: 5 years, $224 million.

Dwight Howard's rookie max extension: 5 years, $85 million.

It's been seventeen years since the Magic signed a player to a rookie max deal.#TogetherMagic pic.twitter.com/HNldld9dMW

— ORLmuse (@ORLmuse) July 5, 2024

Although Banchero is the team's star, Wagner's emergence is also important to the team's success. In Orlando's Game 7 loss to Cleveland, Wagner finished with six points on 1 of 15 shooting, including 0 of 5 from behind the three-point line. Despite his poor performance, however, Banchero made it clear after the game that the team would not have gotten this far without Wagner.

“Without Franz we wouldn't be here. I've also been in a situation where you feel like you could have achieved a lot more in a lost game, but that doesn't define him. It doesn't define us.”

Wagner has improved every year of his three-year NBA career, and at just 22 years old, he will likely grow into at least an All-Star player.

The last word on Franz Wagner and the Orlando Magic

After a solid year last season, it will be interesting to see how the Magic move forward. The team recently lost Joe Ingles to the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, they did sign guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope from the Denver Nuggets, who should help them on both ends of the court. Wagner's contract extension is a good move for the Magic. From Orlando's perspective, it may be an overpayment. However, it will tie up one of their brightest stars, who should only continue to improve through the 2029-30 season.