Payton Pritchard: A Bargain for the Celtics in 2026-27

The Boston Celtics have already made their gamble. Shipping out Jaylen Brown ripped away one of the pillars of a title core and left a glaring question hanging over the franchise: who fills the void behind Jayson Tatum and the new-look front line?

One of the answers, at least financially, is hiding in plain sight.

His name is Payton Pritchard, and by 2026-27, he might be one of the biggest bargains in the Eastern Conference.

A Rotation Guard on a Role Player’s Salary

Eddie Bitar of Fadeaway World recently singled out Pritchard as a player poised to outperform his contract in the 2026-27 season. On paper, the numbers make that prediction look conservative.

Pritchard is set to earn just $7.7 million that year, the sixth-highest salary on the roster behind Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Derrick White, Mitchell Robinson and Sam Hauser. In a cap environment where backup guards with shooting chops routinely clear eight figures, that figure jumps off the page.

So do his recent stats.

Last season, entrusted with real responsibility at last, Pritchard responded like a player who’d been waiting for the leash to come off. Across 79 games, including 50 starts, he averaged 17.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting 46.4% from the field and 37.7% from three. Those aren’t empty numbers on a lottery team; they came in Boston green, under the weight of expectation.

The shift wasn’t subtle. The “energy guard” label gave way to something more substantial. Pritchard ran the offense, handled extended minutes, and still delivered what he’s always promised: instant scoring and confident perimeter shooting. The trust from the coaching staff went up. So did his production, across the board.

Yet the contract barely budged.

His 2026-27 salary sits at $7.77 million, followed by $8.30 million in 2027-28. For a guard who can initiate, space the floor and keep the scoreboard moving, that’s not just reasonable. That’s value.

Extension Talk Can Wait

The natural question in Boston is whether the Celtics will try to lock him in even longer before that bargain window fully opens.

Pritchard, though, isn’t chasing it. Not yet.

With two full seasons left on his current deal, he made it clear he isn’t losing sleep over extension talks before this campaign tips off.

“No, I don’t really think about it. It’s just not something I’m really looking at,” Pritchard said. “I have two years on my contract and it’s just, there’s no rush on it. We’ll talk, obviously, but we have a whole next year to talk about an extension. For me, it’s like, just focus on getting better and becoming the best basketball player I can possibly be.”

That mindset suits the Celtics just fine. They can watch another year of his growth before deciding how aggressively to move. He can bet on himself, knowing another leap could turn those extension talks into something far more lucrative.

The stakes are obvious. If Pritchard backs up last season with another strong campaign, he won’t just be outperforming his contract — he’ll be rewriting it. And in a post–Jaylen Brown world, Boston might need that internal win as much as any blockbuster move.