In 1993, Michael Jordan made the shocking announcement to quit basketball in an attempt to pursue a career in baseball. While many people believed the underlying reason for his retirement to be his father’s untimely demise, most Americans were baffled by Jordan’s decision to forfeit his booming career in the NBA in his prime. However, Jordan’s zeal for the NBA never completely died despite his radical decision. When a reporter asked him following the announcement if money was enough to lure him back to the league, His Airness had cheekily suggested that the league would have to pay him $300,000,000 to fund his return. In his biography Michael Jordan: The Life, Roland Lazenby noted this instance and explained MJ’s outlook on his self-worth before quitting basketball.
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James Jordan Sr. was tragically murdered in a carjacking incident in 1993 after Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to their first-ever three-peat. His father’s sudden death compelled Mike to quit basketball and pursue a career as a baseball player, which is something his father always wanted from him.
Michael Jordan named his price to stay in the league in 1993
Michael Jordan’s 1993 decision to retire was a shocker for everyone in the NBA. However, Bulls’ then head coach Phil Jackson had sensed that the zeal to play basketball was not dead yet in MJ. Many team owners in the NBA tried suggesting to Jerry Reinsdorf that the league should chime in to cut a deal to lure MJ back into basketball.
This showed how much revenue Jordan generated not only for the Bulls, but for the other teams in the NBA as well. However, MJ’s mind was set. We knew how much Jordan valued his self worth from this answer to a $100,000,000 question asked by a reporter. Here is an excerpt detailing the incident from Lazenby’s book, Michael Jordan: The Life:
Afterward, a reporter asked Jordan if he could be lured back to basketball with a $100 million contract offer. “If I played for the money,” he said testily, “it would be $300 million.”
Jordan tried highlighting that his passion for playing was above his ambitions to earn money. However, at that time, it was highly noticeable how Jordan and the other Bulls players were not earning enough compared to the revenue they generated.
MJ made an iconic return to basketball in 1995. Following this, His Airness led his team to another three-peat victory in 1996, 1997, and 1998. It was only in 1997 that Michael Jordan became the highest paid basketball star in the league. MJ’s career earnings from the NBA is $94,000,000, the majority of which he earned in the last two years of his career.
Chicago Bulls owner once shut down Jordan’s request for better wages
Michael Jordan’s prowess had brought in people in numbers to the once empty United Center following his Draft in 1984. The Bulls was only drawing a crowd of 6,000 before MJ was drafted. Enter Michael Jordan, the United Center saw streaks of sold out tickets for months. However, when Jordan tried negotiating an attendance clause in his contract, the then Bulls owner turned it down immediately.
The Bulls only realized MJ’s worth after he came back from his first retirement in 1995. Jordan was offered a massive $30 million/year contract in his penultimate season with the Bulls, which made him the highest paid athlete in the league at the time. In his last season (1997-98), Jordan received a $3,000,000 raise to his $30,000,000 contract. Till the 2017-18 season, MJ’s $33,000,000 per year contract was the richest in the NBA.
