Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics agree NBA record US$304 million deal: reports
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Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (right) has been one of the mainstays of the Celtics’ success in recent years.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK – Jaylen Brown will remain with the Boston Celtics after agreeing a record-breaking US$304 million (S$403.3 million) five-year contract extension, according to United States media reports on Tuesday.
If confirmed, the mammoth deal will be the richest contract in National Basketball Association (NBA) history, eclipsing the US$276 million extension inked by two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Nikola Jokic in 2022.
Brown, 26, has been one of the mainstays of the Celtics’ success in recent years, helping the team reach the play-offs for seven consecutive seasons.
His new deal will ensure that the two-time All Star remains in Boston until the end of the 2028-2029 season.
“I just see opportunity. A lot to learn, a lot to improve on,” Brown told ABC News earlier in July.
“You can’t take for granted the opportunities that you get. It’s a privilege to be in a winning organisation with a winning team, so it’ll be great to bring back the guys and try to go on another run.”
The guard had one year remaining on his existing deal with the Celtics, which will pay him US$31.8 million for the 2023-2024 campaign.
He posted career-best figures of 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in 2022-2023, forming a potent offensive partnership with Jayson Tatum.
However, the Celtics’ season ended in disappointment with the team losing at home to the Miami Heat
While Brown is set to be the NBA’s highest-paid player, that distinction may not last long with Tatum poised to assume the title in 2024 when he too becomes eligible for a bumper contract.
Off the court, Brown is the vice-president of the National Basketball Players Association and he also has a growing fashion line, 7uice. But he insists that he is focused on basketball.
“My day job is my day job and... I have got to continue to progress, continuing to work,” he said last week at the Variety + Sportico Sports and Entertainment Summit.
“You slack for a second and somebody is coming behind you.”
Brown has also been outspoken when it comes to social issues.
“Sports is a mechanism of control,” he told The Guardian previously.
“If people didn’t have sports, they would be a lot more disappointed with their role in society. There would be a lot more anger or stress about the injustice of poverty and hunger.
“Sports is a way to channel our energy into something positive. Without sports, who knows what half of these kids would be doing?” AFP, REUTERS
