The Boston Celtics agreed to a two-year, $44.2 million contract extension with guard Payton Pritchard, ESPN reports. The deal is fully guaranteed and includes a mutual option for the 2029-30 season, keeping the 2024 NBA champion and 2025 Sixth Man of the Year in Boston for at least two more years beyond his current contract.
The deal is fully guaranteed and includes a mutual option for the 2029-30 season worth $23 million, keeping the 2024 NBA champion and 2025 Sixth Man of the Year in Boston for at least two more years beyond his current contract. Pritchard, 28, is coming off a career year in which he averaged 17 points, 5.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game while starting 50 contests.
Terms Of The Payton Pritchard Contract Extension
Pritchard is set to earn more than $21 million in the 2028-29 season under the new deal, according to ESPN. The mutual option for 2029-30 is worth $23 million, giving both sides a decision point after the guaranteed years run out. The structure means Pritchard could remain with Boston through his ninth season and potentially his tenth if the option is exercised.
What It Means For Boston’s Roster Plans
The extension arrives as the Celtics navigate a transition period. Brown’s departure to Philadelphia, along with the continued presence of Jayson Tatum and Paul George, puts added emphasis on depth at guard, a spot Pritchard has filled with increasing responsibility. Locking him in for multiple seasons gives Boston clarity on at least one rotation piece as the rest of the roster takes shape, a process detailed in Boston’s evolving identity without Brown.
Pritchard’s role expanded significantly last season when Tatum was sidelined for most of the year. His touches per game jumped from 51.8 in 2024-25 to nearly 70 last season, the second-largest increase among 33 players with at least 4,000 touches in each of those two seasons, according to ESPN. That jump reflected how much offensive responsibility Boston handed him in Tatum’s absence.
Pritchard’s Background And Production
Boston selected Pritchard with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, according to Bleacher Report. He has played six NBA seasons, appearing in 79 games with 50 starts in 2024-25, averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, and shooting 40.7% from three.
Over the last three seasons, Pritchard has played in 241 games, tied for third-most in the league during that span, according to ESPN. He is also one of four players in Celtics history to record at least 200 three-pointers in multiple seasons, joining Tatum, Derrick White and Antoine Walker.
What’s Next
The extension doesn’t change Pritchard’s standing for the current season, but it removes uncertainty about his long-term future in Boston as the Celtics continue building around Tatum and George. The Celtics open the 2026-27 season on Oct. 20 against the Detroit Pistons.
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