Macklin Celebrini could have demanded even more money from the San Jose Sharks.
According to his agent, he simply chose not to.
Celebrini signed a five-year, $94-million contract extension with San Jose on July 29. The deal carries an NHL-record $18.8-million average annual value and begins in the 2027-28 season, keeping him under contract through 2031-32.
However, new details from agent Pat Brisson suggest the negotiations were about much more than making Celebrini the highest-paid player in hockey.
They were also about determining whether the Sharks were prepared to build a championship-calibre organization around him.
Celebrini’s Camp Wanted Answers From Sharks Ownership
In an interview with Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, published by NBC Sports Bay Area, Brisson revealed that he requested a meeting with Sharks owner Hasso Plattner and general manager Mike Grier before formal extension talks began.
Brisson described Celebrini as a “unicorn player” and believed a face-to-face meeting with ownership was necessary before his client made such a significant commitment.
The agent wanted to understand where the Sharks were headed, how aggressively ownership planned to support the rebuild and whether the organization was willing to provide Grier with the resources required to construct a winner.
Brisson left the meeting encouraged. He said Plattner demonstrated a genuine desire to win and appeared prepared to spend money where necessary to help San Jose return to contention.
That part of the negotiation mattered.
Celebrini was not just deciding how much money he wanted. He was deciding whether he believed in the people responsible for building the team around him.
Five-Year Term Was Celebrini’s Decision
Celebrini’s five-year contract immediately drew comparisons to other young superstars who recently signed deals of the same length.
Brisson, however, said the contracts signed by Connor Bedard and Leo Carlsson were not used as direct comparisons during Celebrini’s negotiations.
Instead, Brisson viewed Celebrini as possessing “Crosby-McDavid type of leverage.”
The real debate was whether the contract should cover three, four or five seasons. According to Brisson, Celebrini personally pushed for the five-year option.
A shorter agreement could have allowed him to return to the negotiating table sooner and potentially capitalize on a rapidly increasing salary cap. Celebrini instead wanted to give Grier more certainty and more time to plan the Sharks’ roster.
His message to Brisson was straightforward: “Five years is what I want.”
Celebrini believed that term would provide San Jose with a legitimate runway to surround him with the right pieces and demonstrate that the organization could become a contender.
Celebrini Could Have Asked for $19.5 Million—or More
The $18.8-million cap hit makes Celebrini the NHL’s highest-paid player by average annual value, surpassing Leo Carlsson’s $18-million figure.
It still may have been less than Celebrini could have received.
Brisson said an annual salary of approximately $19.5 million would have been reasonable. Grier also acknowledged that Sharks ownership was prepared to go as high as roughly $20.8 million per season if that was what it took to complete the extension.
Celebrini did not push negotiations that far.
His camp settled at $18.8 million, leaving San Jose with additional cap flexibility to continue building the roster.
That does not make the contract inexpensive. Celebrini will account for approximately 16.6 percent of the projected $113.5-million salary cap when the extension begins in 2027-28.
But in a league where the cap and player salaries are expected to continue climbing, the contract could look considerably different before it expires.
Brisson projects Celebrini’s cap percentage could fall to around 12 percent by the end of the deal. He also believes NHL stars could soon begin earning between $20 million and $23 million annually as league revenues continue growing.
A Player-Friendly Contract Structure
Celebrini’s agreement is heavily structured around signing bonuses.
PuckPedia lists $89.1 million of the contract’s $94-million value as signing-bonus money, with comparatively small base salaries throughout the five seasons. The deal also includes a no-movement clause during its final year.
That structure provides Celebrini with significant protection.
It also comes before changes to the NHL’s collective bargaining rules restrict how much of a future contract can be paid through signing bonuses. Brisson said his agency maximized the available structure because Celebrini had earned that leverage.
The Sharks may have received some flexibility on the overall cap hit, but Celebrini’s representatives made sure the contract remained extremely favourable to the player.
Sharks Now Must Deliver on Their Side
There is no questioning Celebrini’s commitment to San Jose.
The 2024 first-overall pick produced 45 goals and 115 points during the 2025-26 season, setting a new Sharks single-season scoring record. He finished the year with one of the greatest offensive seasons ever recorded by a teenage NHL player.
Now the pressure shifts toward the organization.
Celebrini accepted five years rather than pursuing the shortest possible route back to the negotiating table. He signed a year before his entry-level contract expired. He also stopped below the maximum salary San Jose was reportedly prepared to offer.
Those decisions gave Grier cost certainty and time.
The Sharks must use both wisely.
Celebrini has already established himself as the centrepiece of San Jose’s rebuild. The next challenge is ensuring that he is not asked to carry that rebuild alone.
The contract negotiations appear to have created trust between the player, management and ownership. Whether that trust eventually produces a Stanley Cup contender will depend on what the Sharks do next.
