Astute fans of the Boston Celtics are keeping a close eye on the play of the team’s star wing Jaylen Brown, as the Georgia native will be eligible for a supermax deal that is by and large the best tool the Celtics have at their disposal to ensure Brown will stay with the team as an unrestricted free agent at the end of his current deal.
Some have decried the fact that the current rules governing such extensions ought to be changed to make it easier for teams to retain star talent they drafted such as Brown’s case with Boston. This prompted negotiations to make such changes in the next league collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that is currently getting hammered out by the Board of Governors and the Players’ Association.
Cap expert Yossi Gozlan of our sister site Hoops Hype took Brown’s situation as a test case for the proposed changes and why they would be so welcomed in a recent primer on CBA changes currently being negotiated.
“Jaylen Brown will become eligible this offseason to extend for up to four years, $153.3 million (base salary, not including incentives),” writes Gozlan.
“This would give him a first-year salary in 2024-25 of $34.2 million, which is a 120% increase off his $28.5 million base salary for 2023-24. An 8% increase of $34.5 million is $2.7 million, which would be the amount each subsequent season is increased by. This would give Brown respective salaries of $34.2 million, $36.9 million, $39.7 million, and $42.4 million, totaling $153.3 million over four years.”
“Brown’s maximum extension amount is considered below market value and he is considered unlikely to extend ahead of 2024 free agency,” he adds.
“In fact, he may be considered a no-brainer maximum player and could still become supermax eligible if he earns All-NBA honors this season,” notes Gozlan.
“The maximum contract amount that he can sign with the Celtics in 2024 free agency is currently projected at five years, $255.8 million.”
“However, increasing the first-year salary to a 150% increase of the previous salary would allow Brown to get his projected maximum contract amount through an extension,” adds the H/H cap expert.
“A 150% increase from his $28.5 million base salary for 2023-24 is $42.8 million, which is $8.6 million more than what would be his first-year salary under the current extension rules. Throw in 8% raises, and his four-year extension maximum totals to $191.6 million.”
“This amount is actually slightly higher than his projected four-year maximum amount via free agency, but there’s still room for the current cap projection to grow,” closes Gozlan.
Fans of player movement may not be into such changes as the ball clubs paying their paychecks, but there isn’t any good reason to block franchises from paying their players the full amount they would be able to otherwise earlier.
It also leaves the structure in place that will let players change teams if they want to without losing large portions of their potential earnings on the table.
We expect this potential change to the CBA to be included in the league’s next agreement as a result given that all parties seem into the proposed change.
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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire