By Shams Charania, Jared Weiss and Jay King
The Boston Celtics and Jaylen Brown have agreed to a five-year, $304 million supermax contract extension, league sources tell The Athletic. Here’s what you need to know:
- The deal, which is fully guaranteed and includes a trade kicker but no player option, is the richest contract in NBA history.
- Brown averaged a career-best 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season, garnering a 2022-23 All-NBA second-team selection.
BREAKING: Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has agreed to a five-year, $304 million supermax contract extension with the franchise, per sources. This is the richest deal in NBA history, negotiated by agent Jason Glushon.
Fully guaranteed, with a trade kicker. No player option. pic.twitter.com/MQ6NKILY8Q
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 25, 2023
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Why this isn’t a surprise
This outcome was expected all along. Though Brown and the Celtics took some time to reach a deal, both sides were committed to getting one done. The negotiations ended with a win for Brown (he has a trade kicker) and a win for the Celtics (he did not receive a player option in the final season of the deal). The extension, which eclipsed Nikola Jokic’s as the biggest in NBA history, ends any chance of Brown being included in a trade this offseason.
After he signs the extension, the team won’t be able to trade him for at least one year. Boston will now move forward with a core of Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis. The Celtics should again be one of the favorites this season, but could run into difficulties maintaining such a strong supporting cast as long as they have so much money tied into their top three players. — King
Brown cements himself as one of the NBA’s best scorers
When Brown signed his rookie extension four years ago, he took more than a discount. It was just $103 million guaranteed, a discount that looked comical by the time the extension actually kicked in. Over the past few years, he has cemented himself amongst the league’s best scorers, earning a fully-guaranteed deal for nearly triple that amount.
It’s the biggest deal ever, though it will be eclipsed in the next extension cycle as these salaries grow every single year. But it’s a fitting conclusion to years of Brown having to play second fiddle to Tatum in every regard from his role to his salary. Brown has earned the right to be treated like a supermax player and now he’s agreed to the largest deal in NBA history. — Weiss
How this impacts the Celtics roster
Now things get interesting because he is no longer a bargain. With his turnover issues and streaky shooting in last year’s playoff run, he is now entering his prime paid like a player ready to move past his faults and put all of his potential together. He will be 28 when his supermax kicks in and he’ll have to prove he is finally going to be a net-positive playmaker if he is going to truly be worth that exorbitant salary.
Clearly, it’s worth the bet. But if the Celtics continue to fall short of a title and with Tatum expected to also receive a supermax extension a year from now, Brown’s massive salary will be under even more scrutiny. The team will likely operate over the second apron in 2024-25, so the window to win won’t stay open long.
— Weiss
Backstory
On July 4, The Athletic reported the Celtics and Brown’s camp were expected to pick up talks at summer league and league sources said earlier this month those talks had gone as expected. Brown had been eligible to sign a supermax extension since July 1.
Brown has played his entire seven-year career with the Celtics after Boston drafted him with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He earned his first career All-Star nod in 2020-21, averaging 24.7 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Boston finished 57-25 last season and reached the Eastern Conference finals, falling to the Miami Heat in seven games.
Required reading
(Photo: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)