SACRAMENTO, CA - NOVEMBER 20: Jimmy Butler #21 of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball against the Sacramento Kings on November 20, 2014 at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) Bulls wing Jimmy Butler. (Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images)





The Bulls have extended All-Star wing Jimmy Butler a maximum qualifying offer of five years worth around $90 million, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Eric Pincus , a move that adds a wrinkle to Butler’s free agency.

By virtue of the Bulls extending that, any offer sheet Butler signs from another team must be for at least three years, options excluded. That’s significant because Butler reportedly wants to pursue a shorter-term deal so that he can become a free agent sooner and maximize his earning potential when the salary cap spikes in the summer of 2016 as a mega TV deal kicks in.

By extending the maximum qualifying offer, any offer sheet Butler now signs with another team would, at the earliest, have him becoming a free agent in 2018, which may be later than he wants. If the Bulls hadn’t extended such an offer, other teams could’ve proposed a two-year offer sheet to Butler, making him eligible to become a free agent in 2017.

The only way Butler can become a free agent in 2016 is to play on a one-year deal with the Bulls (or on a one-year deal with a second-year option), who have also extended the formal one-year qualifying offer that’s believed to be worth around $4.4 million, Pincus reported. The sides can also negotiate a one-year deal at a much higher value if they so choose.

If Butler really wants to become a free agent in 2016 and the Bulls don’t want to play ball on offering a shorter-term deal, Butler can play out his one-year qualifying offer deal from Chicago and become an unrestricted free agent next summer — but he’d be leaving a guaranteed $85 million or so on the table.

The maximum qualifying offer is rarely, if ever, extended, in large part because teams usually reach an extension with stars before they reach restricted free agency and because organizations usually want to negotiate so that they don’t have to pay the said player as much.

In this financial climate though — in which max deals signed in 2015 will often look like bargains when the cap spikes in 2016 — it makes good sense for the Bulls because it gives them a little more leverage and perhaps an extra year of Butler if he signs an offer sheet with someone else.

Butler averaged 20.0 points per game last season and was the team’s top perimeter defender.