Jaylen Brown Says He Turned Down $50 Million to Start His Own Shoe Company

It will likely go down as the most expensive pass of Jaylen Brown’s career. 

The Celtics star is launching his own sneaker brand, called 741, which will start selling products Oct. 22. That’s also the first day of the NBA season when Brown, the Finals MVP, starts the team’s title defense against the Knicks. 

Brown “turned down over $50 million in endorsement deals from other major sneaker companies to pursue full ownership and creative control of his own brand,” according to the company’s press release. 

The company’s name comes from the significance of its numbers, according to its website. The seven is for spiritual awakening, wisdom, and understanding; the four is for hard work, stability, and practicality; and the one symbolizes new beginnings, creativity, and independence. Brown has worn No. 7 throughout his career with the Celtics.

Adult sizes for the Rover, Brown’s debut shoe for 741, are available for preorder on the website for $200 (which are comparable with other big brands), while kids sizes are $70. 

The 6-foot-7 wing can afford to leave $50 million on the table because he has one of the richest contracts in the NBA. In 2023, Brown signed a contract extension for five years and $304 million, which was an NBA record until his teammate, Jayson Tatum, topped it this past summer with a five-year deal for $315 million. 

Before starting 741, Brown had been a sneaker free agent since his initial five-year deal with Adidas expired in 2021. The 27-year-old has taken some unique business approaches before. When Brown was drafted third overall in the 2016 draft, he turned professional without an agent and decided to use the players’ union, the National Basketball Players Association, for guidance on negotiating his contract. Given he went on to sign a historic contract, it clearly didn’t hurt him.