Celtics lock in Payton Pritchard with two-year, $44.2 million extension

BOSTON — Oct. 13, 2026 — The Boston Celtics and guard Payton Pritchard have agreed to a two-year, $44.2 million contract extension that also carries a mutual option for the 2029-30 season, his representatives confirmed Tuesday.

The money and the years

The new money is fully guaranteed and represents the largest extension Pritchard could sign at this stage. He is currently earning $7.8 million this season and is due $8.3 million in 2027-28 on his existing contract. The extension covers 2028-29, when he will make more than $21 million, and then the mutual option for 2029-30 is worth close to $23 million.

Because the final year needs both sides to agree, the structure also gives Boston and the guard a natural checkpoint in the summer of 2029 to talk about another deal.

Why Boston moved now

Pritchard, 28, is coming off the best season of his career. He set personal highs with 17 points, 5.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game and started 50 times while the Celtics played most of the year without Jayson Tatum. His share of the offense grew sharply, with his touches per game rising from 51.8 to almost 70, one of the biggest jumps in the league among high-volume players.

He has also been one of the most available players in the NBA. His 241 games over the last three seasons are tied for third-most in the league in that span, and he is one of only four players in franchise history with 200 or more made 3-pointers in multiple seasons, joining Tatum, Derrick White and Antoine Walker.

A homegrown piece for the retool

Boston drafted Pritchard with the 26th pick in 2020. He won a championship with the club in 2024 and was named Sixth Man of the Year in 2025. The extension keeps him under contract for at least nine seasons with the Celtics, and possibly a 10th if the option is exercised, giving a reshaped roster a reliable guard at a price well below the league’s top tier.