The biggest NBA deal ever signed by a top basketball player from Duke
With his contract extension, Jayson Tatum’s legendary summer continues.
For the sensational Duke basketball player, Jayson Tatum, the summer is just getting started.
He now has the largest contract in NBA history after taking center stage in the Boston Celtics victory parade, winning his first NBA title, and throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game.
Tatum and the Celtics reportedly reached an agreement on Monday afternoon to extend the player’s contract for a maximum of $314 million over five years.
He overtook teammate Jaylen Brown, who became the first player in NBA history to sign a $304 million extension last summer.
Tatum won’t, however, be the champion for very long since Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is expected to be eligible for a $346 million contract extension next offseason.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Jayson Tatum’s deal also has a trade kicker, which essentially serves as a no-move provision, and a player option for the final year. Tatum would be the first player in NBA history to earn at least $70 million in a single year if he chooses to play in the last year of his deal, which is expected to pay him $71.4 million in 2029–2030.
This season, the former Blue Devil shot 47.1 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from three point range, averaging 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. He did not, however, get the NBA Finals MVP award for the Eastern Conference Finals, despite averaging 25.0 points per game throughout the series.
Jayson Tatum will soon return to the court, which was a crucial factor in the contract’s timing. Later this week, he will travel to Las Vegas for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team training camp, where he will compete for his second gold medal in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
