What are Zeke Nnaji's contract details? Salary, duration, endorsements and more explored

Zeke Nnaji and the Denver Nuggets kicked off their title-defending season with a home win over the LA Lakers in a rematch of the 2023 Western Conference Finals (119-107). Nnaji stayed on the floor for 11 minutes as a backup center for the Nuggets and had four points and one assist, on 1-of-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.

During the weekend, the 22-year-old big man signed a four-year contract extension with Denver, worth a total of $32 million. The new deal, which will start in the 2024-25 season, will keep him with the franchise through at least the summer of 2027, with the final season (2027-28) being a player option.

Salary-wise, Zeke Nnaji will see a significant increase, earning $8.8 million in the 2024-25 season, $8.1 million in 2025-26, $7.5 million in 2026-27 and a player option of $7.5 million in 2027-28.

Zeke Nnaji, who has no endorsements in his career so far, has played only for Denver since joining the league in 2020. He averages 5.0 ppg and 2.6 rpg in 136 games, on 52.7 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from three.

What is interesting is that his three-point percentage has dropped from 40.7 percent in his rookie season and 46.2 in the 2021-22 season to just 26.2 last year.

Nuggets view Zeke Nnaji as key part of the rotation and want him to stay healthy

Zeke Nnaji has played both big men positions during his time with the Nuggets, but it appears that the team counts on him as a backup center for Nikola Jokic. The 22-year-old big man has shown he has the ability to be effective defensively, being great in switch defense.

However, he has missed several games with various injuries and as Denver coach Michael Malone recently said, the target is for him to stay healthy and maintain consistency. If this happens, he is expected to see more minutes on the floor.

"Every chance that Zeke has gotten a chance to play, he’s gone out there and played well. But unfortunately there’s been an injury, and it’s been an injury that has caused him to miss a significant amount of time," Malone told media in early October, via Denver Gazzette.

"For Zeke, it’s being healthy, being available and going out there and playing his game. He’s shown he can do it. Now, the only question I have is that can he do it consistently and can he stay healthy?"

For his part, Zeke Nnaji believes his three-year experience and sharing the center position with Jokic and DeAndre Jordan has helped him work on his game and is confident he can further improve moving forward.

"Just watching Jok, seeing how he plays and what he does has really taught me a lot," the 22-year-old big man added, via Denver Gazzette.

"DJ, he’s also been great at pointing out little things. He’ll pull me aside in the middle of the game and he’ll tell me things that he sees, things I could be doing better. Both of them have been great."

After their season opener win vs the Lakers, Nnaji and the Nuggets shift their attention to Friday's road game vs the Memphis Grizzlies.