Alijah Martin has turned a modest rookie deal into a real NBA payday.
The former Gator, who was part of Florida’s 2025 national title team, has signed a two-year, $4.8 million contract extension with Toronto, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. That’s a major jump from the $111,000 he earned as a rookie after going in the second round.
Martin’s path with the Raptors has been a gradual climb. He spent most of the 2025/26 season in the G-League, but his opportunities started to open up in January.
He got his first career NBA points on 1/7 against Boston, then followed that up with four steals in a game against Philadelphia on 1/11. Down the stretch, he was mostly limited to mop-up duty or rotational minutes, but Toronto fans still noticed the same edge he showed at Florida: toughness, energy and a hard-nosed style.
His role for 2026/27 is still uncertain, especially with Toronto making a huge splash and bringing back Kawhi Leonard. Even so, the extension says the Raptors liked enough of what they saw to give Martin more time to keep developing.
That’s a solid reward for a player who was never just a box-score guy in Gainesville. Martin spent only one season with the Gators, but he left a mark as the kind of glue guy every championship team needs.
His most memorable moment came in the Final Four against Auburn, when he posterized them so bad that Bruce Pearl opted to retire. Just as important was what he brought away from the spotlight: leadership, steadiness and a refusal to let Florida sink into self-pity when the tournament got rocky.
During Florida’s behind-the-scenes team features, Martin consistently came off like a guy who expected more from the group than what the outside world was giving them. That attitude showed all the way through the 2025 NCAA Tournament, where he kept the Gators locked in when things weren’t going well.
Toronto drafted Martin No. 39 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. He was one of three Florida players selected that year, alongside Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard.
In Other News...
Florida May Finally Have A Quarterback Worth The Tebow Talk
Florida has spent years chasing the kind of quarterback who can change the tone of a program, and Will Griffin is already drawing the sort of attention that tends to follow only the biggest names. The freshman from Jesuit High School in Tampa arrives in Gainesville as a 6-foot-2, 225-pound passer with a sturdy frame and a reputation built on both his arm and his legs, the kind of profile that naturally invites big-picture comparisons around the SEC.
Griffins resume also helps explain why the buzz has followed him this far. He was rated a four-star prospect and ranked among the top quarterbacks in the 2026 class after a strong high school career, and Florida had to fend off several major programs to land him. The question now is how quickly that promise turns into production, and whether the Gators have finally found a quarterback whose presence alone can make the Tebow talk feel less like nostalgia and more like a real possibility. [Read more 🡒]
Billy Donovan Just Took Another Turn Florida Fans Wont Love
Billy Donovans latest move is another reminder that his coaching path keeps drifting farther from the sideline Florida fans once knew so well. After stepping down as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, Donovan is moving into a lead assistant role, a notable shift for a coach whose rsum has long been built around running his own program and who has spent most of the last three decades in head coaching jobs.
For Gators fans, the part that stings is not just the change in title, but the way it closes off the familiar hope that he might someday circle back to college basketball. Donovan has been linked to openings before, including North Carolina, and his name always seems to hover around major jobs when they open. Instead, he is heading into a new stage of his career, and the longer that continues, the more distant that old Florida reunion feels. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Suddenly Has Real Momentum In Battle For No. 1 Recruit
Jalen Brewsters recruitment has taken on a new edge, and Florida is right in the middle of it. The top-ranked football prospect committed to Texas Tech has been weighing other options, with the Gators among the schools staying persistent as coach Jon Sumrall continues to work the relationship in Gainesville. Brewster has already made a visit to Florida, and the staff has kept him engaged as the race for one of the classs biggest names gets more complicated.
LSU has also pushed hard, including a recent visit that put Brewster face-to-face with Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron during the Tigers five-star weekend. Even so, Brewster has kept saying he remains loyal to Texas Tech while leaving the door open to more visits before he makes a final call. For Florida, that means the door is still cracked open in a battle where momentum can change quickly, and the Gators have given themselves a real chance to stay in it. [Read more 🡒]