Examining Jayson Tatum's $314 million extension with Boston Celtics

Just days after signing Derrick White to a four-year $126 million deal, the newly-crowned NBA champions Boston Celtics secured superstar Jayson Tatum on a record-breaking contract.

According to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the 26-year-old has agreed to a five-year supermax extension with the Celtics worth $314 million. The deal surpassed the $285 million they gave Tatum's 'partner in crime' Jaylen Brown last summer.

First official $300 million NBA contract

While Brown's extension was reported at $304 million, it included his salary for the 2023-24 campaign. Hence, Tatum is the first player in NBA history to bag a $300 million contract. The deal will kick in during the 2025-26 season with a starting salary of $54.1 million and will balloon to $71.4 million if JT picks up his player option for the 2029-30 campaign.

In terms of total value, Tatum's new deal is roughly $10 million short of Kobe Bryant's career earnings of $323.3 million . It is also only $47 million shy of the amount Wyc Grousbeck and his partners acquired the entire Celtics franchise in 2002.

With an average salary of $62.8 million, Jayson's new contract will pay him the same amount per year as the Oakland Athletics' entire 2024 payroll, which is even more mind-boggling.

Tatum's 2029-30 player option is worth more than the career earnings of former two-time All-Star Roy Hibbert ( $70.5 million) and one-time All-Star Danny Granger ( $68.8 million).

How much will Tatum actually make?

But while Tatum's contract amount looks daunting, you would be surprised to know how much he will actually pocket from it. That's because JT's payroll deductions will actually be bigger than his net take-home pay.

According to a Tweet from Profluence, Tatum will only bank a mere $25.2 million out of his average salary of $62.8 million after deductions. These include a huge $23.2 million in Federal taxes.

Cllct Media's Darren Rovell also noted that while JT will become the first player to have a $70 million annual salary, he won't own the highest salary paid in a single NBA season if we account for inflation. Rovell says that Michael Jordan's $33 million salary during the Bulls' Last Dance would have a value of $74.7 million in 2029 if we consider the current inflation rate.

Related: "He has a history at times of going AWOL" - How Jayson Tatum proved Mark Jackson's bold take wrong during the Celtics 2024 NBA Finals run