When Jaylen Brown and the Celtics reached a supermax extension Tuesday of five years for $304 million, reactions from the internet were about what you’d expect—largely, “Wowwwwww, that’s a ton of money for a star player who isn’t even the best on his team, let alone in the NBA.”
The agreement—which breaks down to almost $61 million a season in what now becomes the biggest contract in NBA history—illustrates something that’s been plainly clear for years now. Namely that we’re in a different frontier of what these players earn at this point, not only placing increased public scrutiny on stars to perform, but also on their clubs, who have more aspects of the salary cap to consider with a brand-new collective bargaining agreement in place.
No one would disagree with the premise that the 26-year-old Brown is a fantastic player, one who can get his own shot almost anytime he likes and defend on the other end of the floor. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.9 boards and 3.5 assists per night last season as Boston ended up a game away from reaching the Finals. For all his stardom, though, it’s also hard to deny two things: Brown has meaningful improvements to make with his ballhandling—something that’s been true for a few years now—and Jayson Tatum stands out as a more complete player, even if the two are capable of winning a championship together.
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In light of that latter reality, it likely is jarring to some that Brown’s deal is the biggest ever. Perhaps the best way to think about it is to simply label it that way for now while also realizing that this is far from the first time this sort of situation has come up. Bradley Beal, for instance, didn’t quite net the biggest contract in league history last summer, but only league MVP Nikola Jokić had a deal worth more than Beal’s five-year, $251 million agreement, which also came with a no-trade clause. (Beal has made a grand total of one All-NBA team, clocking in on the third team back in 2020–21, when the guard averaged 31.3 points for a 34–38 Wizards club.) And well before that, back in ’16, point guard Mike Conley—who’d never made an All-Star game to that point in his career—pulled down a five-year, $153 million deal with the Grizzlies.
Yet perhaps more important than what the stars are paid is how these deals end up playing out. Beal’s situation was upended just one year into his sizable contract when the struggling Washington franchise got new leadership, prompting a huge roster overhaul. And now Damian Lillard wants out of Portland, just a year after agreeing to a two-year extension worth $122 million. And it’s not lost on anyone that Kevin Durant requested a trade from Brooklyn last summer despite entering his first year of a four-year contract himself.
Seeing how Brown’s unfolds will be interesting. He spoke earlier this season in candid terms about his trust issues with the Celtics after being offered in a proposal for Durant. Plus, there’s sure to be a growing drumbeat for a bigger change if Boston, after having fallen in the Finals or conference finals three out of the past four years, continues to come up short with the duo.
Either way, while Brown’s contract may have hit a different threshold, this is simply the new normal in today’s flush NBA. Yes, it might be totally jarring to see a player like Brown get a $300 million deal, but the reality of it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
