Overview
- The Celtics and guard Payton Pritchard agreed to a two-year, $44.2 million extension Tuesday that includes a mutual option for the 2029-30 season.
- Reports agree on the length, total value and the mutual option but conflict over guarantees with some outlets calling both years fully guaranteed and others saying only one year is standard-guaranteed.
- Because the new money does not begin until 2028-29 the deal leaves Boston’s 2026-27 and 2027-28 tax payroll unchanged and removes Pritchard’s path to unrestricted free agency in 2028.
- Pritchard earned the raise after career highs in 2025-26 and awards that include the 2025 Sixth Man of the Year and the 2024 championship, and Boston expects him to take a larger role in the retooled backcourt following the Jaylen Brown trade.
- The contract’s math reflects Pritchard’s earlier low rookie extension so the team used the league’s estimated average salary ceiling with a 140% starting figure and 8% raises, a structure that gives Boston cost control and the chance to renegotiate or keep him via the 2029 mutual option.