No Boston Celtics player has supported Jaylen Brown's new 741 shoe line more than Payton Pritchard.
Pritchard ditched his Nikes to rock the 741 Performance Rovers early in the 2024-25 season and has worn them in at least 35 games, even giving Brown's shoes a rave review when asked how they felt.
"I trusted that he put a lot of time and effort into them, to make them a really good shoe,” Pritchard said back in February. “And once I tried them out, I was like, ‘Wow, this is incredible.’ ... Once I started wearing them, I'm like, 'I'm never taking them off.'"
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Given that context, you can imagine Brown's surprise when Pritchard signed a shoe deal with Converse late last week.
So, why did Pritchard ditch the 741s to sign with Converse?
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"There were a lot of companies -- a lot of people put their offers out," Pritchard told reporters Tuesday at Celtics shootaround. "Ultimately Converse's offer and everything with it was what I thought was probably the best decision for myself.
"I've said this before, JB's shoe, I think it's an unbelievable basketball shoe and everything. But Converse I feel like appealed to me, and the lifestyle stuff and stuff like that -- that I really liked."
When asked how he broke the news to Brown, Pritchard kept it real.
"I mean, once you tell him the money situation and stuff like that, then he's gonna have to understand it a little bit more," Pritchard said with a smile. "I'm not in a position like JB is, where -- we're not making as much money as that man. It's a little bit different.
"He wasn't heartbroken. I'm still gonna be always supportive of his brand, and I hope that takes off."
It's hard for Brown to argue with Pritchard's point; Pritchard is playing on a four-year, $30 million contract and has made just over $17 million in career earnings, while Brown is on a five-year, $285 million supermax deal and has already made $182 million in career earnings.
So, as much as Pritchard wants to support Brown's shoe company, he also has to get his.
The 27-year-old is doing just that by signing with Converse, a subsidiary of Nike that's based in Boston and has deep basketball roots.
"I love it," Pritchard said about Converse's Boston connection. "It's unbelievable to be a part of their brand. Obviously it's Boston-based, and me representing the Celtics and Boston with it is just unbelievable opportunity to showcase it."
