Jayson Tatum is fresh off of signing the richest contract in NBA history, but don’t expect the reigning champion to spend any of that $314 million.
The 26-year-old last year told Graham Bensinger that he has a longstanding agreement with his mom Brandy Cole, who also manages his finances, that he will only spend the money he earns from endorsements.
“Her and my accountant agreed,” he said of the deal they made before he was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 2017. “They didn’t know I’d make as much as I did off the court.”
The All-Star’s sponsors include Nike, Gatorade, Google and Subway, and he brought in an estimated $13 million from endorsements in 2024, according to Forbes.
The mother-son duo said they are careful about preserving his basketball earnings because of the financial insecurities they experienced before Tatum entered the NBA.
For most of my life I didn’t have money … I remember what it’s like to struggle and not have.
“For most of my life I didn’t have money,” Tatum said. “I didn’t have an investment account, checking account, a credit card. I remember what it’s like to struggle and not have.”
“We’re not that far removed from living check to check,” Cole added in the interview. “He knows what he never wants to go back to.”
Cole processes the wire transfers for Tatum’s big purchases. She knows her son “likes nice things, he likes nice watches,” and that “technically I can’t say no” to anything he wants to buy. But sometimes when she sees what he chooses to spend money on, she can’t help but react.
“When he tells me the price, I’m like ‘What does this watch do?'” Cole said. “And then he’s like ‘But it’s not the Celtic money!’ That’s his little running joke.”
Still, Cole tries to keep her son in line when she can.
“Sometimes I take trips with my friends,” Tatum said. “We’ll go out to LA, Vegas or Miami and she’ll call me in the morning and go ‘Who is Mr. Jones and why did you give him $12,000?'”
For Tatum, who says he’s mostly gotten his spending “in moderation now,” part of enjoying his wealth comes from remembering what it was like to not have much. As long as he’s sticking to the terms of the deal he made when he was 19, Tatum gives himself a little bit of flexibility to have fun.
“In my mind, I’ve gotta spend all that money,” he said. “It’s gotta go, I’ve gotta enjoy it.”
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