Payton Pritchard, Celtics Agree to Contract Extension, Full Details and NBA Salary Cap Impact

Payton Pritchard is reportedly staying with the only NBA team he has ever known for the foreseeable future.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday the guard and the Boston Celtics agreed to a two-year, $44.2 million contract extension that also features a mutual option in the 2029-30 campaign.

According to Spotrac , the Celtics have just under $28 million in total cap allocations for the upcoming 2026-27 season and $232.3 million in total cap allocations for the 2027-28 campaign.

Boston selected Pritchard with the No. 26 overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft, and he has developed into a franchise building block

After helping lead the Celtics to the championship during the 2023-24 campaign, he won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year during the 2024-25 season while averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while connecting on 40.7 percent of his three-point attempts.

That shooting has been particularly important in Pritchard's career, as it has allowed him to fully capitalize on the additional space that comes when opposing defenses focus on other stars such as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

But he was far more than just a secondary playmaker for the Celtics last season with Tatum sidelined for an extended stretch. He averaged career-best numbers with 17.0 points, 5.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game during 79 appearances and 50 starts.

Pritchard figures to play an important role in Boston again in 2026-27 with Brown no longer on the team after he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. It will be up to the guard to make opponents pay for collapsing on Tatum and Paul George, and he has proven the ability to do that throughout his career.

At just 28 years old, the Oregon product should remain a key piece in the backcourt throughout the entirety of the extension.

With the new contract in place, he and the Celtics will start the season on Oct. 20 against the Detroit Pistons.