Magic Johnson was forced to pay wife Cookie Johnson $1 million to touch a basketball again

Magic Johnson had to leave things unfinished when he tested positive for HIV out of the blue, so he tried making a comeback 4 years later.

After a team medical prior to the 1991-92 season, Magic Johnson terrified the whole nation, when he announced he had HIV while still carrying a smile that could stop wars.

HIV/AIDS was killing countless people around the world at the time and was seen as an epidemic without any cure. It was a death sentence.

And when one of the biggest superstars in the United States caught it, everyone started thinking they’ll get it too and when they do, they will succumb to it.

Also read: “I want to be like Tim Duncan! Where the hell is Tim?”: Giannis Antetokounmpo Wants to ‘Disappear’ Post Retirement

With his will and desire to live, not only did Johnson fight the deadly virus all too well, he kept it in such control that he made a comeback after four years into his retirement. But he didn’t please many people with that decision.

Magic Johnson had to pay a hefty sum to his wife to convince her for allowing him to play just one more season

Johnson was a tremendous source of strength to the world, which needed a whole lot of it, and was looking at him as the leader who will see them through this long and dark tunnel.

But even he required somebody to give him moral support following a life-changing event at just 32 years of age. And that somebody would certainly be his wife and the mother of his children – Cookie Johnson.

Even though Magic confessed his relationship with numerous women as the cause of his HIV infection, Cookie came around when she could have easily let go. But it was beyond her when Magic decided to go back to the NBA in 1995.

“My wife told me, ‘That’s it, one (season) and get out.’ Or she’ll leave me. Cookie always told me I was coming back: ‘No way you’re working out three times a day, and you’re not coming back, you can’t tell me.’ I said, you haven’t given me your OK yet. So I bribed her. I gave her a million dollars,” Johnson said, according to Los Angeles Times.

“It was a lot more than that,” cleared Cookie Johnson.

Also read: WATCH: Magic Johnson Consoles and Motivates a 7-year-old HIV Positive Kid Who is Heartbroken by Her Situation

Paid a ‘lot’ more than a million to play basketball? Perks of having a fortune of more than $600 million, we suppose!

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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