Tyler Herro will control Heat’s future before he plays another minute in Miami.
If the Miami Heat are going to return to the ranks of the NBA’s best, then nothing will prove more important during the 2025 offseason than how the franchise handles Tyler Herro’s contract extension eligibility.
Herro, 25, has given Miami ample reason for intrigue with his quality of play. He finished the 2024-25 regular season averaging 23.9 points, 5.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 3.3 three-point field goals made per game on .472/.375/.878 shooting
the process, Herro secured his first career All-Star Game appearance—adding to an already solid résumé that includes the 2022 Sixth Man of the Year award and 2020 All-Rookie honors.
It’s also worth noting that Herro has already played 50 playoff games with the Heat at 25 years of age. He averaged 33.6 minutes per game during Miami’s run to the 2020 NBA Finals, and thrived as the sixth man when the Heat pushed the Boston Celtics to seven games in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.
All of this seems to amount to an easy decision: Extend Herro and continue to invest in what has become a steadily upward trajectory.Handing Herro a colossal financial figure, however, comes with a significant element of risk. He’s been well worth the money he’s been paid up to this point in time, but the contract extension he’s in line to receive would result in the need for significant individual improvement.
Whether fair or foul, when the conversation revolves around contracts in a salary-capped league, a player is either worth the cap hit or their financial figure is limiting their team’s potential
Tyler Herro’s extension would require him to reach an entirely new level
According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, Herro is eligible for a three-year, $149.7 million extension if he and the team sign the dotted line before Oct. 20. If they wait until next offseason, Herro would be able to sign a four-year, $206.9 million extension.In the event that Herro is selected to an All-NBA team during the 2025-26 season, then he would be eligible for a supermax contract of five years and $380 million.
In other words: Miami can sign Herro to an extension before Oct. 20 at $49.9 million per additional season, or risk having to pay him an average of $76 million a year. On that level alone, it’s hard to disagree with anyone who suggests that the Heat should pay Herro now and save itself a headache later.
The question is: Can Miami realistically argue that Herro’s current level of play is worth $49.9 million against the cap? If not, is there a strong enough argument to support the belief that he’s on his way to living up to that figure on a nightly basis?
