One Team Was Willing To Pay Bowen Byram $14M Per Year
Per Byram's agent Darren Ferris, one team went as high as $14 million per season during conversations about what the defenseman was seeking.
Elliotte Friedman offered more detail on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, reporting that the offer would have been a four-year deal at a $14 million annual salary.
Friedman said he suspects he knows the identity of the team but is not certain, adding that the club in question was believed to be the San Jose Sharks.
The Deal He Actually Took
Byram instead landed in Chicago.
The Blackhawks acquired him from the Buffalo Sabres in a trade that sent the fourth overall pick the other way, then signed him to a six-year contract worth $12.5 million annually that begins in 2027-28.
That is still an enormous number for a defenseman.
🚨 E X T E N D E D 🚨
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) July 1, 2026
📰 ➡︎ https://t.co/nAdKfXY9dk pic.twitter.com/ld3Lqf81Ju
For context, no blueliner in the NHL will carry a cap hit exceeding $11.5 million next season, meaning both Chicago and the mystery suitor were prepared to make Byram the highest-paid defenseman in the league, at least until Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes reset the market.
Ferris explained that the foundation for this contract was laid years earlier when Byram signed his two-year bridge deal in Buffalo.
"At that time, I think if we would have went to arbitration, we would have got five and a half a year at the most," Ferris said.
The Sharks
San Jose's summer lends some weight to Friedman's suspicion.
The Sharks clearly prioritized upgrading their blue line, and after missing on Byram, they pivoted and landed both Darnell Nurse at $9.25 million per season and Jacob Trouba at $8.25 million.
Elliotte Friedman: Someone told me...that he heard there was a 4x$14m out there for Bowen Byram, and I assume that was the Sharks, but I don't know that - 32 Thoughts (7/6)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 18, 2026
Both of those defensemen are signed for the next four years, the same term San Jose reportedly offered Byram.
That timeline lines up with the year Macklin Celebrini becomes eligible for unrestricted free agency, which looks like a deliberate window.
What It Says About His Market
The bigger takeaway is how many general managers believe in Byram.
The 25-year-old was the fourth overall pick in 2019 and won a Stanley Cup with Colorado before being traded to Buffalo, and while his five-on-five impacts have drawn scrutiny at times, multiple front offices were willing to bet enormous money on his ceiling.
Two separate organizations were prepared to make him the highest-paid defenseman in hockey.
At 25, there are clearly still teams that believe he can become a true No. 1.
