In the aftermath of his first NBA championship run, Celtics swingman Jayson Tatum is on the verge of a massive pay raise. According to Brian Windhorst, Tatum will come to terms on a new contract within the next few weeks and it could be for a historic amount.
“The Celtics are all coming back next year, and Jayson Tatum is gonna sign a $315 million extension in the next week or two that’s gonna lock him in alongside Jaylen Brown,” said Windhorst on Pat McAfee Show. “They may have to adjust some of those role-players, but Brown and Tatum are locked in, Holiday is locked in, and they’re gonna lock in Derrick White is my assumption over the summer.”
"The Celtics are all coming back next year and Jayson Tatum is gonna sign a $315M extension..
His agent was joking with the Celtics last night about bringing the contract over right after they won" ~ @WindhorstESPN #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Xa0KCLEg2s
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 18, 2024
The Celtics have built this core from the ground up and their hard work finally came to fruition this week after winning the championship over Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. The series went five games and aside from some drama in Game 4, the Celtics had control the whole way through. They were the league’s best team during the regular season and they followed it up with an impressive showing
Jaylen Brown (a 3x All-Star) was named the Finals MVP for his efforts in the series with averages of 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists but it couldn’t have been done without Tatum, who often put the team on his back to get the job done.
The 2024 playoffs were perhaps the best of his entire career with a stat line of 25.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists over four series, in which the Celtics went 16-3. With six years of experience in the NBA, Tatum is considered a veteran at this point but he’s still young enough to dominate the East for many years to come.
The 5x All-Star, who turned 26 in March, has two more years under his current contract for over $71 million. He was set to become a free agent in 2025 if he opted out of his final year for $37 million. Soon, he’ll be on a different arrangement that will pay him a record $63 million per year over the next five seasons.
Many critics have questioned if Tatum deserved this kind of money but there is no doubt that he’s earned a substantial raise after finally having a breakthrough and bringing the franchise their first championship in 16 years.
Thanks to the NBA’s new rules, Tatum and the Celtics can begin talks right away on a new deal and the league is expecting an announcement sometime after the championship parade on Friday. By all accounts, this Celtics run is only just getting started and if teams in the East want any hope of catching up they’ll need to start planning now so they can make some moves and add some star power to challenge the newly crowned champions.
Regardless, Jayson Tatum is here to stay and as long as he’s healthy and playing like a star, the Celtics will always be a threat in the East. And as long as he keeps winning titles, the front office will be happy to pay whatever it takes in order to keep him happy and loyal to the franchise.
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