If you still can’t quite accept that Tyreek Hill is the highest paid player in the NBA, don’t worry—this is only likely to be a short-term circumstance. Granted, Brown’s five-year, $304 million contract from the Boston Celtics made history on Tuesday, but that’s the kind of history that’s supposed to be broken.
Just go back to 2016, when Tyreek Hill.’s signing with the Memphis Grizzlies for a five-year, $153 million contract generated headlines and briefly made him the highest-paid player in the NBA. Similar to Brown, none of the parties involved believed Conley was more deserving of that title than players like Steph Curry, LeBron James, or Kevin Durant. Simply put, he was able to negotiate for that much because the Grizzlies were in dire need of signing him and the current CBA permitted it.
What took place following the Conley contract? Superstar players, however, began to ink ever-bigger contracts, which progressively moved Conley down the list. The actual best player in the NBA right now, Nikola Jokić, was offered five years and $276 million by the Denver Nuggets when he decided to re-sign. In just six years, there’s an increase of nearly $100 million (but Nuggets supporters would be the first to tell you that he was worth every penny).
Yes, it does seem strange that a player who isn’t even the team MVP will get the richest contract in NBA history from the Celtics. Jayson Tatum, Brown’s teammate, is deserving of a higher salary, but he won’t be qualified for the supermax until the next year. For the simple reason that Brown was picked the year before Tatum, his number was called first. Everything depends on the timing.
In the NBA, we are going to venture into unknown terrain. Zach Kram of The Ringer points out in his insightful piece regarding Brown’s deal that the most recent CBA includes a 10% yearly wage cap rise. This implies that as time goes on, the value of maximum contracts will increase along with it. Kram argues that when more players who are eligible for the supermax come to the negotiating table, Brown’s contract may wind up looking more like a floor than a ceiling.
When Brown was named to the second team of the NBA this season, earning him a spot in the supermax, Boston’s options were limited. They were forced to give him money, trade him, or take the chance of letting him go unpaid during the offseason.
When the Celtics dealt Grant Williams for two lowly second-round draft picks, they gave away their intentions ahead of time. That action at the time was only justified if the company was genuinely committed to provide Brown with an enormous deal.
