One of Houston’s important role players is sticking around for the long haul.

The Rockets have signed forward Tari Eason to a five-year, $81.5 million contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday.

Eason entered the off-season as a restricted free agent after playing down the four years of his rookie-scale deal.

The 25-year-old had a solid two-way season for the Rockets last year, averaging 10.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals. He also shot 35.8 per cent from three-point range on over four attempts per game and started a career-high 34 games out of 60 played.

However, his efficiency from the field took a hit, as he finished the season with a 41.6 field goal percentage, down from his 48.7 per cent mark from the 2024-25 season.

Drafted by the Rockets 17th overall in 2022, the former LSU man has averaged 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and two steals-plus-blocks over 221 games.