VanVleet reveals "hardball" contract negotiations almost caused him to leave Raptors

Two years ago, Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet signed a record-setting contract with the team.

But it wasn’t an easy process to get there.

VanVleet’s four-year, $85 million deal is the largest in NBA history by an undrafted player. It’s safe to say it’s worked out well for everyone, with VanVleet making his first career All-Star game in the second year of his deal.

In a new documentary on TSN titled Par-Lay: Bet on Yourself, VanVleet shed some light on his 2020 contract negotiations, including the possibility of signing elsewhere as a free agent.

@tsn The full doc on Fred Van Vleet’s inspiring story airs tonight at 7pm ET on TSN @Uninterrupted 🇨🇦 @DoorDash ♬ original sound – TSN

Conversations with Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster left VanVleet wondering if he’d leave Toronto.

“Those guys are really good at what they do, which is negotiating contracts,” VanVleet reflected.

VanVleet even went so far as to call them “hardball” negotiations.

“They’re either at [three years, 63 million], or they’ll give you the player option, the fourth year, but you have to take less money,” VanVleet’s agent Brian Jungreis offered.

“If they want to do that, then I just won’t come back, I’ll just go somewhere else,” VanVleet replied.

In the documentary, VanVleet and Jungreis discussed possibilities of the Detroit Pistons or Phoenix Suns as possible suitors for him. Both teams went in other directions in free agency, leading VanVleet to be mostly negotiating a contract with just the Raptors.

“We didn’t really have another offer on the table,” VanVleet said.

Eventually, VanVleet and the Raptors settled on the fourth-year player option.

“This is a win for everybody, trust me,” he said.

VanVleet clarified that Toronto was somewhere that “he didn’t want to leave in the first place.”

And with VanVleet averaging 21.6 points, 7.0 assists and 4.6 rebounds in 50 games this season, Toronto has to be thankful he chose to stay too.