Jayson Tatum Contract: How Much Celtics’ #1 Makes Per Year? It’s $14.5 Million Less Than Jaylen Brown

26 years old, with a net worth of $50 million, and at the brink of clinching his first-ever NBA championship, stands Jayson Tatum. The 2nd time to be in the NBA Finals, the Jays and their crew are looking forward to wearing a shiny ring by the end. Holding the most number of titles in the league, hand-in-hand with the Lakers, Boston is looking to hang their 18th banner. There is no doubt that the pressure to win it this year is as real as it can get. After all, they have knocked on that door multiple times in the past years. While it’s the ultimate goal of every athlete to win a championship, the financial aspect definitely serves to hasten things along.

In the case of Jayson Tatum, the 5x All-Star is eligible to sign a supermax contract this summer. Going by the term supermax literally, if that proposed deal goes through he’ll be breaking a major NBA record. Here’s a deep dive into all the details of his contract history.

Details of Tatum’s Current Contract

Tatum signed a rookie scale max extension that runs for five years worth $163 million in 2020. As such, he is earning an average annual salary of $32,600,060. The additional terms included in Jayson’s current contract were a trade kicker of 15% and eligibility for All-NBA incentives. Given how he missed an All-NBA selection, Tatum missed that window, leaving him with the current total salary.

The fifth-year of Tatum’s contract has a player option worth $37.1 million as well. However, if he turns that down, the 6’8 forward will be eligible for a 5-year supermax extension projected at a whopping $314.8 million! JT will be averaging $54.3 million as a starting salary annually were he to sign it.

As of now, the Cs have their second superstar, Jaylen Brown, holding the record for the largest salary in the NBA. He had signed a 5-year $286.23 million Designated Veteran Player extension with Boston in July 2023. Clearly, if the Tatum supermax deal goes through, he will surpass JB for the largest contract.

Not to mention, it will be the league’s first $300 million contract. Not that anything is stopping the ‘Beantown’ from agreeing to the deal. Unless, of course, he opts into the player option. Now that we have got that out of the way, let’s take a look at the 3x All-NBA First-Teamer’s contract history.

JT’s contract history

The 2017 NBA Draft Night saw the Boston Celtics pick a 19-year-old Duke product as their third pick. From then, Jayson Tatum has emerged as Boston’s franchise superstar. In 2020, he secured a five-year max rookie scale extension. And in 2022, he led the Cs on a brilliant Championship run, ultimately falling to the eventual winners, the Golden State Warriors.

His rookie extension would have earned him a total of $195 million. However, with Tatum not making it to an All-NBA spot in 2020-21, he missed almost $33 million worth of incentives. He ended up with the current $163 million. So, how does his contract look alongside Jaylen Brown?

Jayson Tatum vs Jaylen Brown’s current deals

As mentioned above, Brown currently holds the largest contract in NBA history with his supermax extension. As of now, though, Tatum is earning $14.5 million less than his trusted partner in a year. Let’s take a quick look at their current contracts.

So, there you have it. Is there any other comparison you’d like to have? Drop your questions/doubts below!