The Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown is cashing out after signing the richest deal in NBA history!
The Associated Press reports that the two-time All-Star agreed to a five-year supermax contract extension that will pay him up to $304 million. The agreement, passing the $264 million deal signed by Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic last summer, has put the rumors of Brown’s future with the franchise to rest.
Brown has been putting in the work since the Celtics drafted him in 2016. Last season, he averaged career highs of 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He led the team to the Eastern Conference finals but lost to Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat,
struggling with just 19 points and only making one of nine 3-point attempts. However, Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens, has been a max contract advocate for Brown. “He’s a big part of us. We believe in him and I’m thankful for him,” Stevens said. “I’m really thankful that when those guys have success they come back to work.”Negotiated by agent Jason Glushon, CBS Sports reports the deal is also one of the most expensive for the league. Based on the assumption of a 10% growth in the salary cap, Brown will be paid a total of $303,734,891, averaging $60,746,978.20 per year. Given lingering new television deals, there is a chance that the cap will jump 10% annually in the future.
Fellow Celtics star Jayson Tatum called Brown “one of the best players in this league” and said, “He plays both ends of the ball and still is relatively young. And he’s accomplished a lot so far in his career. So I think it’s extremely important.”