Sharks sign Macklin Celebrini to $94M, NHL's highest-paid

The San Jose Sharks have secured their franchise cornerstone, signing 20-year-old superstar center Macklin Celebrini to a five-year, $94 million contract extension on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. The deal, which carries an average annual value of $18.8 million, makes Celebrini the highest-paid player in NHL history.

The contract surpasses the previous record set earlier this month when the Anaheim Ducks matched a five-year, $18 million-per-year offer sheet for Leo Carlsson from the Philadelphia Flyers. Celebrini’s extension will begin with the 2027-28 season, keeping him under contract with the Sharks through the 2031-32 campaign. He was entering the final year of his entry-level contract.

Celebrini expressed his commitment to the organization in a statement, saying he was thrilled to sign the extension and that the support from owner Hasso Plattner and general manager Mike Grier showed the team was building something special. He stated that he and his teammates are ready to take the next step toward winning a Stanley Cup for San Jose.

The monumental contract follows a spectacular sophomore season where Celebrini established himself as one of the league’s elite players. In the...