Makar signs NHL-record $163.2M extension, reshapes defenseman market

Cale Makar signed an eight-year, $163.2 million contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche, according to Yahoo Sports. The deal carries an average annual value of $20.4 million, making Makar the highest-paid player in NHL history and the first player to surpass $20 million per season. The extension keeps Makar in Colorado through the 2034-35 season and more than doubles his previous $9 million AAV, a 126.7 percent salary increase. His new annual salary is 63.2 percent higher than Bowen Byram's defenseman record of $12.5 million AAV, set earlier this summer with the Chicago Blackhawks. Makar's $20.4 million AAV surpassed Macklin Celebrini's recent $18.8 million AAV ($94 million over five years with San Jose on July 29), which itself had eclipsed Leo Carlsson's $18 million AAV only weeks earlier. The avalanche of record-breaking deals underscores the accelerating cost of elite talent in the 2026 free agency period. Makar was entering the final season of a six-year, $54 million contract signed in July 2021. Without the extension, he would have been scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2026-27 season. The Avalanche move avoids a scenario similar to the Mikko Rantanen situation, when contract negotiations with a franchise cornerstone eventually led to the player leaving Colorado. Makar has recorded 507 points in 470 regular-season games, making him one of only three defensemen in NHL history to average at least a point per game, alongside Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey. In the 2025-26 season, Makar scored 20 goals and finished with 79 points in 75 games, leading Colorado's defensemen in all three categories. His 79 points ranked third among NHL defensemen league-wide, and his 20 goals ranked sixth. Makar finished second in Norris Trophy voting. During the prior season, Makar scored 30 goals and finished with 92 points in 80 games, winning his second Norris Trophy and becoming the first defenseman since Mike Green in 2008-09 to reach the 30-goal mark. He has scored at least 20 goals four times and posted two 90-point seasons, something only six defensemen in NHL history have accomplished. Makar has recorded 90 points in 90 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including 26 goals, the most among active NHL defensemen and tied for 13th all time at the position. During Colorado's 2022 Stanley Cup run, he recorded 29 points in 20 games and became the third-youngest defenseman in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. That same season, Makar won the Norris Trophy, joining Bobby Orr and Nicklas Lidstrom as the only players to win both awards in the same season. Makar, Orr and Brian Leetch remain the only players in NHL history to win the Calder, Norris and Conn Smythe during their careers. He became just the second player in NHL history to be a finalist for the Norris Trophy in six of his first seven full seasons, joining Orr. Makar has been named to the NHL First All-Star Team four times and the Second All-Star Team twice, with his four First-Team selections the most in Avalanche/Nordiques history. Only 13 defensemen in NHL history have been selected to at least four First All-Star Teams. Colorado President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Joe Sakic said in a statement: "We are beyond thrilled to get this deal done and have Cale in an Avalanche sweater for the next decade." Sakic called Makar a "generational defenseman" and pointed to both his accomplishments and his importance to the Avalanche organization and the Colorado community. Makar said: "I am so excited and humbled to continue to wear the Avalanche sweater and represent this incredible organization and community," and described Colorado as a "second home."