The Celtics and Payton Pritchard agreed to a two-year, $44.2 million extension on Tuesday, which is oddly a max deal for Payton, but also a team-friendly deal for the Celtics. The reason that was possible is that his current contract, which runs through the end of the 2027-28 season, was an absolute steal for Brad Stevens and the Celtics.
Pritchard is about to enter year three of a four-year, $30 million rookie contract extension he signed back in October of 2023. At the time, Payton was struggling to crack the rotation, coming off a season in which he averaged just 5.6 points per game in 48 appearances.
He was stuck behind Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and Malcolm Brogdon in the backcourt on a team that was perennially contending for a championship. It was hard for him to grow into a role with so many established veterans ahead of him. He was frustrated with his role and actually asked for a trade at one point, but Stevens and his front office denied the request and locked up Pritchard on this extension.
Celtics played the long game with Pritchard and won big
And it’s safe to say they obviously saw the vision and believed in Pritchard more than he knew. Fast forward to the present day, and Pritchard is arguably the second option for the Celtics offense behind only Jayson Tatum. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, he’s going to play major minutes, run the offense, and likely put up numbers that will have him in All-Star consideration.
He’s due $7.7 million this season and $8.3 million next season, which is a massive bargain for a player of his caliber, so when he became extension-eligible at the start of October, there was motivation for both sides to get a deal done, as they did on Tuesday. But due to the rules of the current CBA, in any extension, the Celtics can only offer 140% of the player’s current deal, capping Pritchard’s earnings at an average annual value of $22 million per season, starting in 2028-29.
That’s certainly a nice chunk of change for Payton and a well-deserved raise, but it’s still a great value for Boston, as he’ll take up roughly 11% of the salary cap. Boston couldn’t have offered more, and Pritchard’s only alternative was playing out his deal and taking his chances in free agency two years from now, a risky proposition for a 6’1” 30-year-old.
So in the end, Pritchard gets a max contract and the Celtics get a steal. And it’s all thanks to the masterful work done by Stevens and company three years ago. They saw the vision with Pritchard, invested in and developed him, and now they are reaping the rewards in a major way.
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