It didn’t take a strenuous back-and-forth at the negotiating table for Jayson Tatum and the Celtics to reach an agreement Monday, checking off the biggest box on Boston’s offseason agenda.
The Celtics reportedly retained Tatum on a five-year, $314 million contract extension, per Shams Charania of The Athletic, making the 26-year-old the highest-paid player in NBA history. It also marked the second consecutive summer in which Boston awarded one of its players with the largest contract in league history — last offseason Jaylen Brown signed for $285 million.
Boston stood by its word after team governor Wyc Grousbeck verbally committed to maintain the roster responsible for raising Banner 18. After having re-signed fellow starters Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White — combined with Tatum and Brown — the Celtics have formed a lineup costing ownership $920 million in contract extensions.
But Tatum’s latest supermax puts the five-time All-Star in a class of his own.
Here’s how Tatum’s record-setting contract will be divvied up through its five-year span, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN:
2025-26: $54,126,450
2026-27: $58,456,566
2027-28: $62,786,682
2028-29: $67,116,798
2029-30: $71,446,914
When it came to producing on the floor, Tatum proved himself deserving of watching the Celtics back up the brinks trucks. He averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists through 74 games this past season, but most impressively, excelled in whatever role helped Boston stay on track. Whether it was facilitating, rebounding, or defending, Tatum was top notch, and that remained the case once the postseason commenced.
Tatum’s versatility went on full display better than it ever had throughout his previous six seasons with the Celtics. Playoff rivals like the Heat, Cavaliers and Pacers threw the kitchen sink Tatum’s way by double or triple-teaming him defensively, but the Duke product didn’t falter. Tatum took advantage, applied the locker room’s team-first mentality, and reaped the benefit of becoming an NBA champion with an opportunity to repeat in 2025.
It’ll be a steep price to pay, but that price came rewarded once the final buzzer sounded in Game 5 of the NBA Finals and TD Garden was plastered with title-seizing confetti to welcome yet another Larry O’Brien Trophy.
