The Boston Celtics and star Jayson Tatum reached an agreement on a five-year, $314 million contract extension that sets a record for an NBA contract by total value and average annual value, topping his teammate Jaylen Brown, who signed a $285 million deal last summer.
The Tatum news arrives on a busy day for the Celtics, who won the team’s record 18th NBA title two weeks ago. The club extended Derrick White for four years at $126 million. Celtics ownership then announced plans to sell 100% of the franchise “estate and family planning purposes.”
Sportico values the Celtics at $5.12 billion, fourth most in the NBA and 21st among all U.S. franchises. The most ever paid for control of an NBA team was $4 billion, when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns in late 2022. The Celtics transaction will almost certainly fetch the highest price ever paid for control of an NBA team.
The new owners will inherit a stocked, albeit expensive, roster. Tatum, Brown and White are joined by another pair earning more than $30 million a year in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
The NBA salary cap and luxury tax threshold are headed up with the arrival of the league’s next TV deal, but the Celtics are staring at a 2026 luxury tax bill of at least $180 million even if they fill out the rest of their roster with minimum salaried players. This is on top of a payroll exceeding $220 million.
Tatum was drafted in 2017 and is a five-time All-Star and a four-time All-NBA selection, which made him eligible for a deal worth 35% of the salary cap starting with the 2025-26 season. The cap that year is projected to be $154.6 million.
Tatum’s new deal is worth $71.4 million in the final season and $62.8 million per year on average. The highest annual average in the NFL is $55 million for quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence. In baseball, Shohei Ohtani leads at $70 million, but 97% of his $700 million contract is deferred, which reduces the present-day average to $43.8 million, per the MLB Players Association.
Tatum was still under contract for another year with the Celtics, but more than $2 billion in free agent contracts have been reached since NBA teams could start negotiating with their own free agents on June 18. Teams could negotiate with other teams’ free agents starting Sunday, and stars Paul George and Klay Thompson found new homes, with the Philadelphia 76ers the most aggressive team, signing five players, including George, to deals worth $455 million.