Jaylen Brown, Celtics Reach 5-Year, $304M Supermax Contract; Richest in NBA History
Rob Goldberg@@TheRobGoldberg
Featured Columnist IVJuly 25, 2023
Jaylen Brown will remain with the Boston Celtics after agreeing to a five-year, $304 million supermax contract, agent Jason Glushon told ESPN's Marc J. Spears.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium first reported the deal. The contract reportedly features a trade kicker and does not include a player option.
Brown was heading into the final year of his contract, set to make $28.5 million in 2023-24.
The 26-year-old is coming off his best season in the NBA, setting career highs with 26.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. After being named second-team All-NBA, he became eligible for a supermax extension worth $295 million over five years:
Jayson Tatum is also eligible for a supermax extension, but the Celtics will seemingly find a way to keep both players under contract.
Brown had already been a key player over his first six seasons, earning his first All-Star selection in 2020-21 when he averaged 24.7 points per game. The guard paired with Tatum to lead the Celtics to the NBA Finals in 2022, coming two wins short of a championship while falling to the Golden State Warriors.
The 2016 No. 3 overall pick reached at least the Eastern Conference Finals in five of his first six NBA seasons, helping the team on both ends of the court.
Despite the team's success, there were question marks about whether Brown and Tatum could coexist. Tatum addressed the speculation last year:
Celtics on NBC Sports Boston @NBCSCeltics"Saying we need to split the group up, get rid of somebody or me and JB can't play together... that fueled us."<a href="https://twitter.com/jaytatum0?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaytatum0</a> talks about how outside noise motivated the Celtics to come together <a href="https://twitter.com/tvabby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tvabby</a> <a href="https://t.co/liCFBrmEFG">pic.twitter.com/liCFBrmEFG</a>
Brown continued to be mentioned in trade rumors even after last year's playoff run, with the Brooklyn Nets seeking the wing as a centerpiece for a Kevin Durant trade, per Sam Amick of The Athletic.
In previous years, there had been speculation about including Brown in a deal for Bradley Beal.
Question marks arose then about Brown's future during the 2022-23 campaign.
"I don't know," Brown said in March when asked whether he would stay with the Celtics long term, via Logan Murdock of The Ringer. "As long as I'm needed. It's not up to me. We'll see how they feel about me over time and I feel about them over time. Hopefully, whatever it is, it makes sense. But I will stay where I'm wanted. I will stay where I'm needed and treated correct."
It created plenty of speculation about a trade, but the Celtics instead locked down the talented player on a new long-term deal. With Tatum, Kristaps Porziņģis, Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, Derrick White and Al Horford under team control through at least 2024-25, Boston should have a long window of title contention.