The Boston Celtics have answered their most pressing question of the offseason. Jaylen Brown will be part of the franchise for the foreseeable future.
The Celtics' wing has agreed to terms on a five-year supermax contract extension that will pay him up to $304 million, his agent said Tuesday.
It's the richest contract in NBA history, surpassing the $264 million deal signed by Nuggets center Nikola Jokic last summer.
The deal was first reported by ESPN and confirmed to The Associated Press by Brown’s agent, Jason Glushon.
It keeps Brown with the team that drafted him third overall in 2016 and watched him develop into a two-time All-Star.
He averaged career highs of 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season. But those numbers went down in the playoffs, when the Celtics lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. In Game 7, Brown had 19 points on 8-of-23 shooting, making just one of nine 3-point attempts.
Still, the totality of his time in Boston has made him a key piece of the franchise's current core that management wasn't willing to risk seeing depart when his current four-year deal expires after next season.
By virtue of making the All-NBA second team — Brown's first such honor in his career — he was eligible for the supermax extension.
From the moment this past season ended, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been adamant that he wanted to see Brown sign a long-term deal.
“He’s a big part of us. We believe in him and I’m thankful for him,” Stevens said last month. "I’m really thankful that when those guys have success they come back to work. And when they get beat, they own it and they come back to work. And so I know that’s what they’re about. And that’s hard to find.”
Those sentiments were echoed by All-Star Jayson Tatum, who has paired with Brown to lead the Celtics' one-two punch in their runs to the NBA Finals in 2021-22 and the conference finals last season.
Following Boston's East finals loss in May, Tatum said retaining Brown long-term was “extremely important.”
“He’s one of the best players in this league," Tatum said. "He plays both ends of the ball and still is relatively young. And he’s accomplished a lot so far in his career. So, I think it’s extremely important.”
Brown's new contract likely will lead to some financial maneuvering down the road with the league’s new collective bargaining agreement bringing more limitations on how teams construct their rosters and additional luxury tax penalties.
Tatum is still playing under his rookie extension that kicked in last season and will be eligible for his potential supermax extension next summer.
Tyler Fulghum, ESPN betting analyst, joins Cheddar Bets to break down the best value picks of the remaining teams in the biggest conference tournaments.
Sponsored by BetMGM
BetMGM host Olivia Harlan Dekker joins Cheddar Bets to break down the biggest and best wagers on the quarterfinal round of NCAA Conference Tournament Week.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Players have voted to accept Major League Baseball’s latest offer for a new labor deal, paving the way to end a 99-day lockout and salvage a 162-game regular season that will begin April 7.
One NFL player got caught gambling on his own team, and now it's going to cost him. The NFL announced Monday that Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley will be suspended for at least the entire 2022 season. The league said Ridley bet on NFL games during a five-day period last November. Frank Shwab, NFL and Betting Reporter at Yahoo Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
NFT platform OneOf has partnered with Duke University's athletic program to create a special men's basketball NFT collection ahead of Mike Krzyzewski's final home game as Duke head coach this Saturday. Matt Marino, VP of Sports & Lifestyle at OneOf, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he takes viewers through the offerings available for collectors and his company's other pursuits in the sports collectibles space.
Major League Baseball has officially canceled opening day after no deal was reached between the league and its players before Tuesday's deadline. The first two series of the 2022 season were set to begin on March 31, but the players rejected the owners' 'best offer.' David Salituro, sports writer for Fansided, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
It has now been two days since Major League Baseball moved to cancel opening day games for the upcoming season. The announcement from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred came during the league's ongoing work stoppage, just the ninth in MLB history. Owners voted unanimously on December 2, 2021 to enact a lockout after the collective bargaining agreement between the league and players expired. On March 1, 2022, following over a week of daily negotiations between the two sides, and three months of on and off negotiations, the league officially canceled the first two series of the regular season. Gabe Lacques, MLB reporter and baseball editor for USA Today Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Joe Ceraulo, Host of Pregame's NBA betting show and "Ceraulo Sports Talk", joins Cheddar Bets to share his favorite player props this season and to try his hand at topping the Pick 6 leaderboard.
Sponsored by BetMGM
