On Monday, Jayson Tatum signed the richest contract in NBA history by agreeing to a five-year, $315 million extension with the Boston Celtics. While that equates to Tatum getting $63 million per year, the 26-year-old will have to give up much of it in taxes. According to Andrew Petcash, Tatum will only take home around $25.2 million.
Jayson Tatum’s income after taxes:
$62.8M: Salary
$23.2M: Federal Tax
$4.7M: Jock Tax
$8.1M: Escrow + Agent
$1.4M: FICA/Medicare
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$25.2M: Net Income
That is quite the financial hit for Tatum, who averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game last season. This breakdown by Petcash illustrates that whenever we see these stars get these massive contracts, we need to understand they only take home about half of the total amount.
Now, $25 million per year is still great, of course. Most of the general public won’t come close to earning that much in their entire lifetime. Tatum isn’t going to be struggling financially at any point in the future thanks to it, and the five-time All-Star will almost certainly be getting another supermax extension too.
Tatum will only be 31 before the 2029-30 season, for which he has a player option worth $71.4 million. I assume he’ll still be an All-NBA player at that point, which means another supermax would be on the way.
By that year, a supermax might well be netting a player upwards of $80 million annually, which sounds crazy but that’s the direction we’re trending in. Of course, the superstar will only get about half of that, though, thanks to taxes, which is a bit of a shame.
Jayson Tatum And The Celtics Look Primed To Repeat
After so many near misses over the years, Tatum and the Celtics finally got over the line in 2024. It was a dominant title run, as they only lost two games in the first three rounds and then comfortably dispatched the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the NBA Finals.
We haven’t seen a team successfully defend the title since the Golden State Warriors did it in 2018, but I think this Celtics team has a great chance of accomplishing that feat. None of their key players are leaving and while some of the best teams in the NBA have improved, I don’t think any of them have managed to surpass the Celtics just yet.
The Philadelphia 76ers just landed Paul George to form a formidable Big 3 with him, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. They look great on paper, but George and Embiid’s injury history leads me to not be too optimistic about their chances of winning it all.
The New York Knicks, meanwhile, acquired Mikal Bridges but I still don’t think they have the firepower to keep up with the Celtics. The Milwaukee Bucks might have it with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard leading the way, but the team just never fired on all cylinders last season. It’s why I still have some doubts regarding the Bucks moving forward.
When you look at the West, the Denver Nuggets just lost another key piece in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The Mavericks did add a big name in Klay Thompson but I don’t view him as someone who moves the needle at this stage of his career. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves, meanwhile, seem another year or two away from winning it all in my opinion.
Unless the Celtics get hit by the injury bug, I think they will repeat as champions. It might be a bit harder than it was this year, but I see them eventually hoisting that Larry O’Brien trophy once again.
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