Thursday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the Houston Rockets and forward Tari Eason reached an agreement on a restricted free agency contract to keep Eason on the Houston Rockets roster with a new five-year, $81.5 million fully guaranteed contract.
Restricted free agent Tari Eason has agreed to a five-year, $81.5 million deal to return to the Houston Rockets, sources tell ESPN. The deal is fully guaranteed for Eason. pic.twitter.com/C3eRhwXis2
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2026
For Bulls context, forward Patrick Williams received a five-year, $90 million fully guaranteed contract in his restricted free agency negotiation with the Bulls, but most Bulls fans would likely laugh at the premise that Williams is a better NBA player than Eason.
In subsequent reporting by Charania, he also stated the Rockets and Eason were engaged in extension negotiations ahead of the start of the 2025-26 NBA regular season.
However, Eason decided to play out the final season of his rookie contract, under the implication by Charania that Eason’s proposed contract extension's guaranteed value ultimately was less than the value of his new Rockets contract.
The Rockets and Eason came close on an extension before last season, but the versatile forward chose to play the year out and enter RFA, where he received more guaranteed money than the October talks and stays in Houston. https://t.co/uMgXxk90Cx
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2026
Worth noting, approximately one hour before Charania published his reporting on Eason’s new Rockets contract on social media, Eason himself took to social media to offer a non-specific statement that reasonably could be interpreted as confusion or acceptance.
I guess bruh🤷🏾♂️
— Tari Eason (@TAR13ASON) July 2, 2026
Reconciling Williams and Eason's NBA Value
There is a niche example of Patrick Williams having some marginal offensive advantage over Tari Eason. Williams, through his first four NBA seasons, compared to Eason’s first four NBA seasons, is a more accurate three-point shooter with a 41.0% three-point shooting percentage compared to Eason’s 35.0% three-point shooting percentage.
However, Eason's three-point volume eclipses Williams as Tari Eason logged 4.6 three-point attempts per 36 minutes over his rookie contract, compared to Williams’ 3.6 three-point attempts per 36 minutes during his respective rookie contract period, according to Basketball Reference.
Eason’s advantage over Williams continues to ascend when you factor in his amplified activity as an offensive player inside the three-point arc compared to Williams. In his entire rookie contract period with the Rockets, Eason averaged 9.1 two-point attempts per 36 minutes, versus Williams' 6.1 two-point attempts per 36 minutes during his entire Bulls rookie contract period.
Eason’s standing as a front-court player relative to Williams is best exemplified in the stark difference in rebounding activity between the two players. Comparing the players' total rebounds per 36 minutes, Eason earned 9.6 total rebounds per 36 minutes during his first four NBA seasons, in contrast to Williams’ 5.4 total rebounds per 36 minutes in his first four NBA seasons.
Defense traditionally has been a Bulls fan justification for Williams’ value on an NBA roster, and that reputation doesn’t hold up against Eason either. Eason’s rookie contract period clears Williams’ rookie contract period in terms of steals per 36 minutes.
Eason averaged 2.0 steals per 36 minutes in his first four NBA seasons, compared to 1.1 steals per 36 minutes delivered by Williams in his first four NBA seasons.
Perhaps Tari Eason is paid appropriately in his new Rockets contract. If that’s the case, then Patrick Williams' current Bulls contract salary is only going to age in the most comedic ways possible.
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