Boston’s star Jayson Tatum finally brought the franchise back to its glory days! After a 7-year relentless effort and a productive partnership with Jaylen Brown and other scorers, the power forward managed to lead his team to the NBA Finals, defeated the Mavs, and secured the Championship title for the first time since the 2007-08 season. With ultimate success comes the ultimate reward, as reports indicate that the player is now set to receive a $315 million supermax extension within the foreseeable future. This will happen despite two years remaining in his 5-year, $163 million contract. While this update is nothing short of marvelous for the player, he may get overshadowed soon by the very rival who he defeated to reach here.

According to a recent report by Spotrac, Luka Doncic is expected to sign on to a 5-year, $346.3 million supermax extension. However, he can only do so after the end of the 2024-25 season, when he declines his player option for the 2026-27 season, adding 5 more years to his deal. Ironically, the inspiration for this extension was probably taken from the Tatum deal, expected to be signed soon. Dallas was unable to clinch the Larry O’Brien trophy but despite that Doncic and Co. were able to create one of the best team records this year, helping it reach the Finals for the first time since the historic 2010-11 season.

In addition to the team’s success, one shouldn’t forget individual accolades. Doncic secured the All-NBA First Team honor for the 5th consecutive time. Knowing how a championship-worthy roster can be built around the duo of Doncic and Kyrie, the Mavs would not mind exhausting a portion of their resources to honor the player. ESPN insider Bobby Marks believes Luka’s extension can go as high as $367.5 million, but only if the salary cap experiences at least a 10% annual increase over the next three years.

But for Jayson Tatum, since the Celtics are also paying the amount for one of the highest contract extensions taken up by Jaylen Brown, adding on to the $315 million would cause them to go way beyond the salary cap.

Can Luka Doncic, not Jayson Tatum, become the first $100 million-a-year athlete?

Looking at the trajectory of Luka Doncic, it would seem that the only way he has to go is up. According to a recent article by the Wall Street Journal, the Slovenian can potentially go way beyond the $93 million that MJ took home as a player, and the $500 million that LeBron is expected to possess by the time he retires. It has now led to the belief that Doncic will soon earn more in one season than what Jordan made during his entire career! The NBA spectrum is going through a drastic change. An example of the same is the 11-year, $76 billion deal that the league was reportedly negotiating with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon.

With the focus of the world increasingly shifting towards live sports, more opportunities are being created to accumulate wealth, with some of it being trickled down to the players’ already high paychecks. The situation that his player could start walking away with 9 figures from just a season is even hard to fathom for agents. “$100 million is really unbelievable,” said Bill Duffy, Luka Doncic’s agent. “It just shows the impact of sports, the impact of media, the impact of globalization, and the economics that drive this business.” If the player keeps being named to the All-NBA First teams, there would be no choice but to add on to his extensive salary.

For Tatum, who has received the honor thrice, the rewards may come but a bit slowly.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about the Lakers legend’s infamous feud with the late Kobe Bryant.