Much of the salary will be dedicated to injured stars as the Boston Celtics prepare for a season without Jason Tatum.
The Boston Celtics had hopes that the 2025-26 NBA season was crushed in May as Jason Tatum’s injury in the playoffs proved to be the end for them.
Given the installation costs to put together their roster, the Celtics had to make some tough decisions. First, the Celtics trade Christapsporzingis for the Atlanta Hawks.
Taking things further, the Celtics also sent Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers, removing two starters from the book.
But despite these moves, the Celtics still have one of the NBA’s most expensive rosters and are paying a lot of money to hold these players.
The Boston Celtics have paid more than $200 million in salaries next season, ranking in the NBA’s best position.
This is what the Boston Celtics pay structure looks like:
| player | 2025-26 Salary |
| Jason Tatum | $54,126,450 |
| Jalen Brown | $53,142,264 |
| Derrick White | $28,100,000 |
| Anfernee Simons | $27,678,571 |
| Sam Hauser | $10,044,644 |
| Payton Pritchard | $7,232,143 |
| Chris Boucher | $3,287,409 |
| Hugo Gonzalez | $2,783,880 |
| Baylor’s Barnesman | $2,619,000 |
| Xavier Tillman | $2,546,675 |
| Garza Gap | $2,461,463 |
| Ron Harper Jr. | $2,378,870 |
| Josh Minott | $2,378,870 |
| Nehemiah Keta | $2,349,578 |
| Jordan Walsh | $2,221,677 |
| Hayden Gray | $1,272,870 |
| RJ Luis Jr. (Bi-way) | $636,435 |
| Max Shurga (bidirectional) | $636,435 |
| Miles Norris (two-way) | $636,435 |
| total | $204,311,991 |
The Boston Celtics have one of the most expensive rosters in the entire NBA. But no one will beat them as a candidate next season.
When Jason Tatum was ruled out for the 2025-26 NBA season, a large portion of their competitive plans fell apart.
However, his massive salary, along with Jalen Brown, was still in the book, so the Celtics had little flexibility in putting together this roster.
The Celtics were able to float next season and get the opportunity to start a younger player like Payton Pritchard.
However, it is very unlikely that they will compete for the NBA championship, or even the top team in the East.