Earlier this week, Jaylen Brown signed the richest deal in NBA history. The 26-year-old signed a five-year, $305 million deal that will keep him in Boston until 2029. The contract eclipses the previous record, set by Nikola Jokic's $270 million deal signed in 2022. If the Celtics can sign Jayson Tatum to a deal next year, which will likely break the record again, they will have their championship-caliber tandem for the rest of the decade.
Brown is coming off a career year with personal bests in points and rebounds per game. His 26.6 points per game were best for 9th in the entire NBA. However, it's not all about basketball for Brown. In his first interview since signing the contract, he made it clear what he intends to do with his record-setting payday.
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Brown Wants To Address Wealth Inequality
"I want to bring Black Wall Street here, to Boston," Brown began. "I want to attack wealth disparity. There's analytics that support stimulating the wealth gap could be better for the entire economy. With the biggest financial deal in NBA history, it makes sense to talk about one, your investment in communities but two also, the wealth disparity here that nobody wants to talk about. It's something that we can all improve on. I think through my platform, through influential partners, through elected leaders and government officials, we can come together and create new jobs, new resources, new businesses, new ideas. That can highlight minorities but also stimulate the wealth gap and economy at the same time.
According to the mayoral campaign of Michelle Wu, who won election to the vacant Boston mayoral seat in 2022, wealth disparity is a major issue in the city. The median net worth of a white family is nearly $250,000. The median net worth of a Black family is $8. Furthermore, a 2022 study shows that 24% of Massachusetts Latinos live in poverty. This is coupled with issues like an exponentially rising cost of living. For example, the average rent for the city of Boston is over $3000. However, with passionate voices like Brown's, maybe some tangible change can actually come to the city.
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